“Collage, for my practice, begins with the process of painting paper—layering color, using different tools, working with both intention and chance. I draw and collage in small books as a daily practice. These books are where things begin, where ideas take shape, overlap, and transform. My finished works are built from this layered practice: part observation, part memory, part abstraction.”
Andy Harris is a collage artist from Virginia Beach, Virginia, whose practice centers on the painted paper—each piece a result of an evolving balance between control and spontaneity. Employing a variety of tools and materials, Harris creates richly layered surfaces where intentional marks meet the unpredictability of chance. His process begins long before final compositions take shape, rooted in the tactile, exploratory work of painting papers and drawing in small books. These sketchbooks serve as both laboratory and archive, where ideas are tested, discarded, and rediscovered. Harris collects his painted papers with equal parts purpose and openness. Some are made with a clear vision in mind; others remain untouched for months or years, waiting for the right context to emerge. The resulting collage works blur the boundaries between observation and abstraction, drawing on imagery from still life, daily rituals, urban debris, and the non-representational language of abstract expressionism. Through this approach, Harris constructs visual spaces that feel at once familiar and fractured; compositions that invite viewers into a dialogue between form, material, and meaning.
Project Clients - CoStar, Dollar Tree, Platoon and Apple Music, Ronald McDonald House, Sentara, Chesapeake Economic Development, Downtown Norfolk, EA Sports
Solo Exhibitions: 2025 - Dead Trees and Other Pretty Things, Foyer Gallery, Richmond, VA; 2024 - SUN-MADE, Dare Arts Gallery, Manteo, NC; SURFER, Contemporary Artists Network, Assembly, Norfolk, VA; 2023 - Suburban Winds, College of the Albemarle, Manteo, NC; 2022 - People Are Staring, Pairos Gallery, Richmond, VA; Dinosaurs and Gladiators, Vestibule 102, Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA; 2021 - Site-Seeing, Slowdive Gallery, Norfolk, VA; Bikes, Brands, Words and Wheels, Baron and Ellin Gordon Gallery, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA;
Group Exhibitions: 2025 - This Must Be the Place, Foyer Gallery, Richmond, VA; Dovetail, Perrell Gallery, Norfolk Academy, Norfolk, VA; Art in the Martin, Martin Agency Gallery, Richmond, VA; Winter Rotation, Marquee Projects, Bellport, NY; 2024 - Cereal Isle, Marquee Projects, Bellport, NY; Free Hermit CrabTomorrow, Swellsa, Kill Devil Hills, NC; ZOO TWO, A.C.E. Virginia Beach, VA; 2023 - Printshow, Pamplemousse Gallery, Richmond, VA; 2022 - Teaching Artists, Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA; A Feast for your Eyes, Artspace Richmond, VA; Hung Juried, Glave Kocen Consulting, Richmond, VA; Art Night, Washington Project for the Arts, Washington D.C.; The Can Opener, Contemporary Artists Network, Assembly NFK Group Show, Norfolk, VA; March Madness, Gallery 5, Richmond, VA; 2021 - Mostly Drawing, ADA Gallery, Richmond, VA; Nourish, Museum of Contemporary Arts, Virginia Beach, VA; 2020 - Human Condition, Atheneum Gallery, Alexandria, VA; Cut, Fold, and Handmade: The Art of Paper, Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News, VA; 2019 - The Freedom of Abstraction, Site: Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY; Expo 38, B.J. Spoke Gallery, Huntington, NY
Residencies - 2026 - VCCA, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA; 2024 - Studio Two-Three, Richmond, VA; 2023 - Studio-Two-Three, Richmond, VA; 2022 - VCCA, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA; 2021 - VCCA, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA; 2019 - Open Wabi, Fredericktown, OH; 2017 - Glass Wheel Studio Artist Incubator Program, Norfolk, VA
Contributions - 2025 - Featured Artist, Contemporary Collage Magazine, Issue #4; Mural Artists, Neon District 10th Anniversary, Norfolk, VA; 2024 - Abstract Mag; 2023 - Davis Books, featured educator; 2022 - Love is Hard Work, play and performance, Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA