# Arts in Milwaukee – David Harrison –
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  • “Sea Grass”Sea Grass

    Grass in a mountain stream in Mt. Robson NP in British Columbia. Digitally imaged, printed on metallic coated paper, laminated under UV filtering acrylic. 10" x 10".

David Harrison

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artist bio

Born in Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood, David graduated from St. Francis Seminary with a degree in neo-Thomistic philosophy. And he shortly thereafter found himself teaching English in Hartland’s Arrowhead school system until he retired.
His early summer vacations were spent backpacking in the mountains of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Utah. After joining the Chicago Mountaineering Club in 1983, he began his odyssey in climbing excursions to the mountains of Alaska, Peru, Bolivia, Tajikistan, Siberia, British Columbia and the Yukon.
It was during this period that he amassed a collection of his 15,000 35mm mountaineering slides. Later he found additional subject matter in Midwestern gardens at a time when the digital revolution was developing.
Harrison had always wanted to print his photos for his home, but his busy life style prevented him from accomplishing it until he visited Skagway Alaska in the summer of 2004. In a local art gallery he discovered software manipulation and the technical artistry available through digital imaging. His acquired digital effects have evolved into brilliant layered images that combine drama, vivid colors, and fantasy - all reflecting his surrealistic emotional expression of his experiences.
He branched into creative ways to express his vision and his experiences. Using Epson wide format printers and a collection of acid free papers, he devised ways to present his current laminated work seen by many as a radical departure in how art is meant to display.
Each summer since 2004, Harrison has juried into as many as 22 art fairs in the Midwest. He currently has his art represented in Milwaukee’s Morning Glory Gallery, Kenosha’s Lemon Street Gallery, Boerner Botanical Garden’s gift shop and other seasonal venues.
2017’s exhibits included: Art Bar’s mini show, Lemon Street Gallery’s Artistreet, Ovation Milwaukee’s Dor ‘l’ Dor Gallery and Ovation’s Mequon Sarah Chudnow Gallery.
2018’s exhibits include: 12 weekend shows in 5 states, a continuing solo exhibit at Ovation’s Mequon Sarah Chudnow Gallery, and a co-op show at Lemon Street Gallery in Kenosha.

artist statement

DRAMA COLOR FANTASY
My art is not entirely photographic but entirely based on photographic files of my taking. It is not entirely digital since many files are taken originally from slide film. The best description, however, is that of a colorful abstractive whimsical layered blend - derivative and surrealistic as an output of Photoshop.
It’s all about enhanced color, drama, light, fantasy, movement, emotion as my original photographs transition from realistic presentation to an almost abstract derivative surrealism. I want others to dance in an emotional re-discovery of my unforgettable experiences.
Each image is a unique single edition work printed on Kodak metallic photographic paper laminated directly to UV filtering museum quality acrylic and backed by another opaque layer of acrylic – an expensive risk-ridden process.
The end result is a frameless, three dimensional, very high gloss production with manually polished edges that seem to lift away from the wall in space.