Jeffrey Harris is a self-taught artist who has drawn extensively from early twentieth century German expressionists, from his own profound familiarity with art history and the influence of his peers. He acknowledges sources of inspiration openly and the early influence of Michael Smither, Rita Angus and her treatment of the landscape (moulded, flattened, segmented, colour used expressively etc) has been maintained throughout his career and evolved to being a stylistic fundamental.

Preoccupied with people and their relations between each other and the world, Harris has produced substantial bodies of work with a number of subject focuses to which he constantly returns. These include the crucifixion, the family group, relationships with other people, traditional subjects from art history and the self-portrait. He establishes in his work daily situations, events or dreamscapes with an intensity of emotion conveyed simply by the tilt of a head, a glance, a gesture of the hand.

Opposing emotions such as love and hate, joy and despair become in Harris’s work complements not simply contrasts. He has developed his own language of symbols in a visual lexicon that is idiosyncratic in nature but inclusive in function. Roads imply a journey, the bird is the human spirit, the crucifix the ultimate symbol of suffering and redemption, etc.

The humanistic focus of his works, the emotive and intellectual power of his works leaves the viewer in no doubt about the mood or intention of the artist or the emotional significance of the event depicted.

The development of Harris as a major NZ painter is in the public arena – there to be seen. But not so obvious but clearly evident now is that the mature Harris is producing work where the marriage between subject and style is complete. Harris is now making paintings that are utterly beautiful and have been painted with the obvious care of mastery.