Fukuko Harris

Artist Statement

Colors, shapes, and the idea of taking a ride into compositional spaces are the things that drive my creation of mixed-media paintings, sculptures and works on paper.
Generally non-representational, my works convey something I have witnessed, sensed or otherwise experienced in my lifetime. I begin by working intuitively with a few colors in mind, and then explore compositional or structural possibilities with more forms and colors, or by various arrangements of my preferred marks. Sometimes it's simply the accumulation of materials that leads me along.
In my paintings, I don't start with plans what they will look like in the end. My goal is to be able to take a ride into the unknown space. It does not always happen, but when it does, unexpected things occur along the way, which might leave my artworks looking curious, inexplicable or awkward.
I like to employ pattern-like elements in my mark making. My lines vary from wide to fine, or from gestural to quite controlled, and they always have a manual aspect. When my marks are gestural, the gestures are calm. When they're controlled, they’re not sharply delineated. The paintings I submitted, I feel resonate with the ideas of intersections. Imagining a very strong cross sign in the middle, I wondered what kind of things are intermingled or blended in the middle of it. Internally my ideas and thoughts are constantly going through the intersections. They intersect with each other often. They make things more complicated, interesting and stimulating.