Rain Harris received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1997.
She has been part of The Resident Artist program at The Clay Studio for the
past five years, and this will be her farewell exhibition. With this exhibition,
Harris returns to an earlier body of work entitled the Poison Bottle Series,
except on a much grander scale. These large-scale vessels are more decadent,
if possible, than those of her past. Her incredibly seductive, bulbous and
tentacle laden vessel forms, meticulously crafted and ornately decorated,
reference historic perfume flasks. The name of the series refers to the
lethal materials women historically used to beautify themselves such as
cadmium and white lead. Each bottle's aesthetic celebrates excess, playing
with the contradictions inherent in the elegant yet tasteless object,
a perfect synthesis of high art and low art. The objects succinctly comment
on our narcissistic, body obsessed culture and sing the praises of decadent
excess, celebrating the beautiful while at the same time questioning it.
Artist Statement
"I look to the contradictions that reside between the tasteful and the tawdry
and I create arguably elegant objects that oscillate between good and bad taste.
I integrate lowbrow craft materials such as feathers, rhinestones and beaded trim
into my work to create refined objects that teeter on the edge of ironic gaudiness.
I want the viewer to question their own perceptions of wealth and taste by
presenting them ambiguous luxury objects that tread a thin line between refined
elegance and brash tackiness."
— Rain Harris
