geno harris

“I am always doing that which I cannot do in order that I may learn how to do it!” 

Pablo Picasso, 1883-1973. Art is to life, as the pieces I create speak to the contradictions that filled my world for some time. Being a self-taught artist and choosing “Decoupage” as my form of expression, I did not have rules and/or techniques on how to create art for a guide; I jumped in and followed my instincts and formed my own ideas and rules which is the very meaning of “creativity” and while doing so, I began to realize more and more that it was the colors themselves that represented a deeper meaning for me.

In 2003, I became a founding partner and Director of Poor Man’s Art Collective, an inclusive art collective that was created to help artists exhibit their works and more importantly establish a network of support for artists who tend to work in obscurity. Finding it difficult to show my work in galleries, the idea for PMAC was born. In 2004, I was named Most Sold Emerging Artist at the Redd Apple Gallery and my career as a professional artist really began. During one of our exhibits in 2011 at the Liberal Arts Gallery, I was approached by the Heidelberg Project and was tasked to do my first solo show which gave me the much needed confidence to push beyond the boundaries of Detroit and show my work in different states such as Chicago, Washington, and Ohio just to name a few.

Recently, my experiences afforded me the opportunity to manage the Carr Center Gallery in Downtown Detroit in 2018 where I was able to work with some of Detroit’s most well-known artists, curators, and talented creatives. After 15 years, I find that most people don’t understand or appreciate creativity and often offer golden words of “wisdom” as to the direction your life and work should go and never pushing you to be the best “you” you can be. From the boldest color to the straightest cut of wood, my art is a whimsical view of how I see certain things and a glimpse to my inner-self. With my art I am exposed!