Cassandra Gordon-Harris Biography
This New Orleans-born artist was trained at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
In addition to being a practicing artist, Cassandra currently teaches at The Arts Center, St. Petersburg, Florida.
SELECTED SOLO & 2-PERSON(*) SHOWS
Centro Ecuatoriano Notreamericano, Guayaquil, Ecuador,1980
St. Johns University Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, 1982
Hollander Gallery, Guayaquil, Ecuador, 1980
Pachacamac Gallery, Quito, Ecuador, 1982
Gallery One, Coconut Grove, FL, 1986
Anna Sklar Gallery, Bal Harbour, FL, 1986
DeMayo Gallery, Guayaquil Ecuador, 1989-91
Synthesis Fine Arts, Tampa, FL, 1999
Mahaffey Theatre, St. Petersburg, Fl, 2000
Avalon Island Gallery, Orlando, FL, 2002(*)
JURIED & INVITATIONAL SHOWS
Santa Fe Armory for the Arts, Santa Fe, NM, 1984
Santa Fe Festival of the Arts, La Fonda Hotel, Santa Fe, NM, 1981-90
Fuller Art Lodge, Los Alamos, NM, 1985
Minot Art Gallery, North Dakota State Fair, Minot, ND, 1985
Gallery of Fine Arts, New Mexico State Fair, Albuquerque, NM, 1985
Museum of Contemporary Arts, Miami Beach, FL, 1986
Home Design Show, Tallahassee, Fl, 1987
Art Alive!, Longboat Key, Fl, 1998*
Alliance for the Arts, Faces of New Millennium, Ft. Meyers, Fl, 2000*
Temple Beth-el Art Festival, St. Petersburg, Fl, 2002,2001,2002*
Much to do About Art, American Stage Theatre at Salt Creek Galleries, St. Petersburg, Fl, 2000 and 2001*
St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts, "Women in the Arts", St. Petersburg, Fl, 2000
The Arts Center, "12 Cubed", St. Petersburg, Fl, 2000
Museum of Fine Arts 2nd Annual Women in Art, St. Petersburg, FL 2001
Pulcheria 2001, International Women in Art, Piacenza, Italy, 2001*
The Big Art Center Gallery, Sanibel Island, FL, 2002
ARTIST STATEMENT
I have recently completed two series of new paintings. Both are an important statement of life and the times in which we live.
My thrust has always been working with color, line and design to create an exploration of human emotions and sentiments. I have always used the female form as a vehicle to carry the conception of emotional pathos to canvas.
Merlin the Magician told King Arthur that we all live on the spine of the dragon (the earth). The Dragon Series is therefore a series of painting reflecting that concept. I use abstracted palm fronds and spiraling stones to represent the organic and inorganic aspects of the dragon. The women in my painting represent the emotional bonds of this interrelationship.
The Fragility Series deals with the human condition. The shelf represents a plane of existence. Within each of our lives we create such a plane where we can imagine we are safe and untouched by the events of the world. Surrounding us is chaos. The hieroglyphics in the background (also used in the Dragon series) are my own creation, adapted from runes taken from ancient Peru, and the Goddess Culture, as well as petroglyphs from the Southwestern US. This represents "the writing on the wall" information and instructions available to us but which we do not understand.
My work always has been a personal explorations of human emotions. Using the female figure as a vehicle, I attempt to capture a moment in time. The deep richness of bold colors, movement in design and a hard line helps to strengthen and broaden the feelings created in my paintings.
I have been told my work is too strong, to "soften the eyes". But the eyes are focus which draws the viewer to the other aspects of the work, inviting them into further introspection. I have always felt that women are the architects of our civilization and are more aware of the deep seated feelings and strengths of the inner self that we only occasionally allow to shine through.
One thing I always try to convey in my work, no matter is the feeling of the painting is light or dark, is a sense of hope. An innate strength of character to overcome and go forward with life.