On View
On viewObject number1994/5.42
Portrait of Kia
Artist
Al Harris
(American, 1953-)
Date1994
Mediumpastel on paper
Dimensionsimage: 39 1/4 × 37 1/4 in. (99.7 × 94.6 cm)
frame: 50 1/4 × 38 1/4 × 1 1/8 in. (127.6 × 97.2 × 2.9 cm)
frame: 50 1/4 × 38 1/4 × 1 1/8 in. (127.6 × 97.2 × 2.9 cm)
Credit LineWard H. and Cora E. Nay Director's Fund, 1995 Area Show
Exhibition HistoryUnknown Exhibition from KIA Permanent Collection, Art Center of Battle Creek (Jan. 22 - Mar. 28, 2001).
"Large Format Works on Paper," KIA Galleries 3&4 (June 27 - Sept. 2, 2003).
"Energy and Inspiration: African American Art from the Permanent Collection," KIA Long Gallery (Jan. 13 - Apr. 14, 2006).
"Area Show Acquisitions, 1975 - 2007," KIA (Aug. 9 - 30, 2008).
"Embracing Diverse Voices: African-American Art in the Collection of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts," KIA Galleries 3&4 (Oct. 3 - Nov. 29, 2009).
"Portrait and Presence," KIA Long Gallery (Apr. 16 - Sept. 18, 2011).
"Permanent Collection Highlight," KIA Gallery 1 (Aug. 3 - ).
"2024 West Michigan Area Show - Celebration of Purchase Prize winners in honor of KIA's 100th Anniversary," KIA Gallery 4 (May 3 - August 18, 2024)Label TextKalamazoo artist Al Harris uses his subjects as vehicles to communicate. We learn about the important personal relationships in his life-with his family, friends and students-and we gain insight into his thoughts and feelings through the facial expressions, poses and gestures of his subjects. His preferred medium is pastel, a difficult and demanding material that requires a great deal of concentration and control. To create his portraits, the artist applies the pastels in thick layers, usually from light to dark and then blends them to create a more painterly effect.
Influenced by artist Chuck Close, Harris works from the photographs of his sitters to make preliminary sketches. For Portrait of Kia, he took an entire roll of film of his oldest daughter to find the facial expression he wanted. Cropped like a photograph, he brings Kia's face into sharp focus in the foreground while the background fades away quickly. She looks out past the viewer from beneath heavy-lidded eyes with a quiet intensity and maturity that belies her youth.
