About
Born in Corning, New York artist Kevin Harrison left the states with his Peace Corp parents and spent his early years growing up in Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. He moved to Charleston, South Carolina in 1997 and quickly made a name for himself in the art world. Known for his contemporary urban style, Harrison draws inspiration from architectural design, abstract landscapes, iconic street scenes, saturated color and abstract imagery.
“I find myself drawn toward images of street scenes, jazz clubs, night owls and extreme detail, such as cracks in the sidewalk,” says Harrison. “I love depicting the buildings as if they are leaning over, looking down and watching us as we walk these century-old streets; they are like the elders who have seen it all and we are the tourists, temporarily passing through their city.”
Most paintings tend to be large in scale. The biggest to date is
“Around the World in 80 Days.” Measuring 24 feet long by 8 feet wide, the painting depicts the curved horizon of the world with landmarks from cities like London, Paris, Tokyo, Dubai, Las Vegas and Charleston.
In 2007, Harrison was commissioned to paint a dream sequence that would hang in a restaurant in Las Vegas. What resulted is “Southern Gothic” a piece that blends Lowcountry folklore with video technology. The painting depicts a bed hanging from the limbs of a live oak tree where the viewer can watch Harrison’s edited images on a 1970’s television that the artist placed into the canvas.
In addition to creating fine art, Harrison has also acted as a freelance marketing director for several national and international companies including Unilever, Axe, Degree Gel, Sky Vodka and Red Bull. In 2006 Harrison was hired
by Red Bull North America to document a spoken word competition in Birmingham, Alabama. The artist then produced, directed and edited a short film called “Word Clash”… which was accepted into the New York City Independent Film Festival.
“Word Clash” won Best Documentary.
Utilizing his talent as a filmmaker and editor, Kevin was named Creative Director at Production Design Associates in 2007.
He creates documentaries, short films, commercials, marketing videos and content for live events. In 2008 his team was hired to film in India as part of a documentary project about eco-friendly textile manufacturing. The adventure covered nearly 3,000 km across the continent and took them through the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana.
Kevin’s creative team is also the leading production crew for Charleston Fashion Week. He is currently working on a documentary of this event.
Paper prints and canvas giclees are available on Etsy.
Kevin Harrison Art 