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Bio

I'm a visual artist specialising in graphite on paper drawings .

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Born in Walsall, UK in 1971. 

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I studied Visual Communication  in  Birmingham, Uk; during my studies I fell in love with the print room and after graduation I pursued a fine art career in drawing and printmaking.

 

I have works in public and private collections and have recently been given my firsrt public art commission.

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I've had several solo shows and been included in group shows in public and private galleries.

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Since graduation in 1999 I have had various roles in public art galleries and have been a freelance artist educator working with groups of all ages.

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Statement

I'm a figurative artist; I use drawing to depict emotional narratives using symbolic language. 

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I use my work to filter and understand experiences; both personal and collective.

 

Drawing is at the centre of my practice; the ritual pleasure of line upon line, the obsessive ceremony of scratch over scratch or a shadowy surface not quite defined.

 

My drawings have become more detailed since I lost my sight for a while; I'm so grateful to be able to see again that I now draw with more intensity than ever before. 

 

I scavenge symbols from superstition, myth, folklore and religion leading to the development of my own visual language. I hoard symbols; playing with them until they conflate into what I need to express a story or an emotion.

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CV

Current Group Exhibitions

The New Art Gallery Walsall, Shelter, June 28th - 19th October 2025

​Shirley Park, Solihull , Surreal Solihull,  June - August, 2025 (commissioned by Solihull MBC​​

 

​​Solo Exhibitions

The New Art Gallery Walsall, Two Metre Talismans, installation, 2022

The New Art Gallery Walsall, Umbilical, installation, 2016

Costa at The New Art Gallery Walsall, Sacrifices and Wishes, 2016

Chameleon Gallery, Walsall, Stages, 2008

Midlands Art Centre, Birmingham, Sacrifices and Wishes, 2006/2007

The Works Gallery, Birmingham, In Between (with Alex Everitt), 2006

Biston Gallery, Wolverhampton, Beyond the Reaches, 2006

 

Selected Group Exhibitions

The New Art Gallery Walsall, Shelter, 2025

Shirley Park, Solihull , Surreal Solihull,  June - August, 2025 (commissioned by Solihull MBC)

The Nook, Birmingham, Paper,  Friday13th June - 30th June 2025

Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, RBSA Drawing Prize, 2025

The Herbert Museum and Art Gallery, Coventry Open 2025

Solihull High Street, Surreal Solihull,  2025, Commissioned by Solihull  MBC)

​RBSA, RBSA Drawing Prize, 2023

The New Art Gallery Walsall, Twenty Twenty, 2022

General Office Gallery, Stourbridge, The Drawbridge, 2021

The New Art Gallery Walsall, 20:20 Twenty Years of Collecting Contemporary Art, 2020

The New Art Gallery Walsall, People’s Choice, 2017/18

Eagle Works Gallery Wolverhampton, Studio holders Show, 2016

The White Hart, Walsall, Gallerie Du Grotesque, 2012

The Works Gallery, Birmingham, Winter Salon, 2009

The Works Gallery, Birmingham, Winter Salon, 2008

Affordable Art Fair, Battersea Park, London, 2006

Will’s Art Warehouse, London, Bliss, 2006

Colony Gallery, Birmingham, All at once, together, at the same time, 2005

The Royal Pump Rooms Leamington Spa, Resonance, 2001

The New Art Gallery Walsall,  Open, 2001

 

Public Collections

The New Art Gallery Walsall (Umbilical, 2016)

The Twenty Twenty Collection, The New Art Gallery Walsall (Sebastian's Nest, 2021) 

 

Public Commissions   

Surreal Solihull, Solihill MBC (Return 2025)

 

Groups

​Member of The Natural Outsiders Collective

 

Awards

Birmingham Institute of Art and Design: Michelle Knight Scholarship

 

Education and professional Development

Artist Educator in galleries, Museums and community projects

Flying Start, Arts Facilitator Training, Birmingham City Council.

Exploring the Youth Justice System: an introduction for Arts Practitioners. Arts Council & OU

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, placement in print and drawings dept. assisting Reyahn King

and drawings curator

Public access lottery funded project at Birmingham Museum &Art Gallery Print Room

B.A. (hons) Visual Communication (illustration), BIAD, University of Central England

BTEC, Foundation, Bournville, BIAD

©2025 by Michele Harris Artist. Proudly created with Wix.com

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