Harriet Porter is a London-based artist specialising in Still Life painting. She uses this traditional discipline to create contemporary minimal pieces inspired by her fascination with light. Working closely from observation, she creates pared-back compositions of solitary objects emerging from deep shadows or bathed in soft daylight. The objects are sourced from her collection of antique silverware but, rather than depicting the object itself, she focusses on the shapes of tones in her view. These elegant reflective vessels exist simply as part of their surroundings, blending into, and defined by, the space around them. She works on several canvasses at a time, gradually building layers of glaze. These subtle gradations of tone create the illusion of slow quiet movement, like a calm river on a still summer's evening.

Porter's preoccupation is informed by her previous career as an art director and stylist. Working in film and photography, she found the camera increasingly frustrating. As a capturing device it became insufficient to describe the wonder with which she perceived the shimmer that constantly caught her eye. She found that painting achieved more accurate results, bypassing unwelcome photographic detail.

Education
1979 - 1982 Central St Martins

Selected Exhibitions
2021 Beaux Arts, Bath 'Still' exhibition.
2020 Beaux Arts, Bath - Solo show.
2020 Affordable Art Fair, Battersea
2019 Cameron Contemporary, Brighton.
2019 The Stratford Gallery, Stratford-on-Avon.
2019 Affordable Art Fair Battersea.
2019 Affordable Art Fair New York
2018 Cameron Contemporary, Brighton.
2018 The Stratford Gallery, Stratford-on Avon
2018 Jane Newbery Gallery, Dulwich Village.
2018 Affordable Art Fair, New York.
2018 Fresh Art Fair, Cheltenham.
2018 Affordable Art Fair, Battersea
2017 Cameron Contemporary, Brighton
2017 Jane Newbery, Dulwich Village
2017 Affordable Art Fair Battersea
2016 Cameron Contemporary, Brighton
2016 The Stratford Gallery, Stratford-on-Avon
2016 Affordable Art Fair, Battersea.

Collections
Porter has sold widely in the UK as well as into private collections in the US, Europe and New Zealand.