Artist Info: Harrison Keys
Bio
Born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1978.
Statement
Statement from Harrison’s solo show, First Time.
As long as I can remember I have always loved to draw. Which included a love for drawing on everything and everywhere. In high school I saw reoccurring graffiti around the school, I was instantly amazed and addicted. I enjoyed the mysteriousness and anonymity of seeing the graffiti appear, it turned out that I also loved doing graffiti. Graffiti as a movement has been one of my biggest influences throughout the last 12 years of my life. I have taken what I have learned from the raw and traditional sides of graffiti and applied it to a few different situations. I have tried to get in between the lines of graffiti and public art. I have tried to give my non-commissioned public works a sense of forethought, which is not always an obvious trait of traditional graffiti. I have attempted to give even the most graffiti-unaware viewer a chance to relate, or at least consider.
However as I have grown older, I find myself doing less graffiti and focusing more on how I can apply what I have learned from it into a fine art forum.
Artist's CV
Education:
Printmaking Major, Georgia State University, 1998 - 2004
Solo Exhibitions:
First Time, Get This! Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia, 2007
Aurora Coffee, Atlanta, Georgia, 2005
Selected Group Exhibitions:
Draw This!, a six person drawing show, Get This! Gallery, 2007
Skate or Die 3, Youngblood Gallery, 2007
Pen Pal, collaborative mail show, Get This! Gallery, 2006
Heart Show, The EARL, 2006
Skate or Die 2, Youngblood Gallery, 2005
Lo-Fi, Eyedrum, 2005
“$”, Youngblood Gallery, 2004
Juried show at Georgia State University, 2004
Skate or Die 1, Youngblood Gallery, 2003
Model freight train graphics show, Chastain City Gallery, 2002
Collusion, 2002
Fresh, curated by Fifth Class, 2002
Press:
Is it Art?, Creative Loafing, feature story by Felicia Feaster, 2006
Creative Loafing; Interview with Felicia Feaster about public art, 2002
Special Projects:
Block Projects, mural project curated by Lloyd Benjamin and Scott Ingram, Saltworks Gallery, Murals #1 and #4
Doo Gallery, Mural behind building
Youngblood Gallery, outdoor store sign
Photo of Boots on utility wire in Little Five Points, Atlanta, Featured in “30307 Calendar”, 2003