While in the first midst of a new life stage relishing in solitude, peace and stillness - a rarity these days, Megan Gabrielle Harris is an artist breaking the molds of her generational norms. She is taking the space and time to explore, experiment, and evolve her work into new directions, allowing her to simply be herself without the pressure of an exhibition. Her perspective, rooted in her experience as a black woman, highlights self-prioritization and indulgence, immersing itself in the world she has created where leaving society's norms behind is essential.

While navigating all the expectations she had set for herself when entering her 30s, the realization of self love and self discovery to the point of peace and contentment became more apparent than ever. It’s about how to exist in a space where the balance between solitude, community and companionship are delicate. After focusing intensely on women in solitary moments, placing significant emphasis on self-care and engaging in activities that bring joy, the newer inspirations for Megan’s next body of work is all about exploring the dynamics of multiple figures and aiming to highlight the intimate and special moments shared with friends and family, emphasizing the significance of finding peace within those connections.

“My work is usually inspired by myself and the stories of my friends who share with me about their own personal journeys. It’s also inspired by my family, like my grandmothers — I just think about the lives they could’ve lived or what they didn’t get to have; to get married at 19 and have kids which limited a lot of other possibilities. I kind of imagine what lives they would have led if they weren’t expected to devote so much of their energy to fulfilling the societal expectations of their time.”

Not having a traditional background, how did you make the career change toward being an artist?

I will give credit to my years living in New York and the community I cultivated while I was there. A lot of my friends ended up becoming either professional photographers, painters, clothing designers and musicians; we were all creatives finding our way in the world and we all sort of came up in the same spaces. It was the Tumblr era of blogging when I first moved to NYC which was such an incredible time to be there, it was so much fun. Modeling definitely informed my personal style and fostered a lot the connections I made at the time. Working as a model, you naturally develop an eye for self presentation and curating and it helped me understand the importance of creating my own platform. Because of that foundation, there was a certain pool of people that my work reached right away and through their desire to share and uplift the work, I received a level of exposure that I didn’t quite anticipate very early on.

I’ve only ever wanted to be an artist, my dad is a painter and I grew up watching him work. He painted purely for expression and passion so he didn’t pursue it with the intent of making a living from it. I do often wonder what he might’ve done if he didn’t have a family to provide for or if he would have stayed in LA and pursued it as a career. I kind of feel a sense of responsibility, that a gift was passed onto me and I have to do something with it. After years of debating and overthinking I woke up one day and made the decision to start sharing my art on social media, trying to drown out all of the fear and anxiety I felt around it. I just kept thinking, this is something that you have to do, this is going to bring you fulfillment. People from all over the world have reached out to me expressing their interest in my work and how it makes them feel which gave me the push to continue in the belief that this was what I was meant to be doing with my life.

Share your studio playlist! Which songs get you through the day lately?

Here are some of my favorite songs I’ve been playing while working:

You Go To My Head - Billie Holiday

A Hymn - Khruangbin

Crazy You - Prince

Ain’t No Way - Aretha Franklin

Take A Little Trip - Minnie Riperton

Analisi Scientifiche - Guiliano Sorgini

Fight For Love - Sault

Come Winter - Bohannon

Gladly - Tirzah

Deception - Miles Davis

Superman - Black Coffee

Blue - Shay Lia (ft. Kaytranada & BadBadNotGood)

If I’m Insecure - James Blake

When was that pivotal moment where you decided to become an artist full time?

That was probably the moment when I decided to leave New York. I felt like in the space that I was in, I was constantly like trying to keep up with modeling because it was how I’d been supporting myself and it took a lot less time to shoot in comparison to painting. It was the most I had ever worked during my my time in New York; but then I started getting more of a demand from the galleries that I had connections to and realized I needed to make a change.

How did you get into working with galleries pretty quickly?

Instagram absolutely played a pivotal role in my journey when it came to gallery interest. It was also timing. The COVID lockdown was in effect and there was a surge of interest in Black art so that definitely played a part. At that time I took some leaps and made some mistakes. I signed a short term contract with a gallery way too early on but I learned so much from that experience. After a few stumbles I realized that I should take my time with all of this.

2021 was the year where a lot happened — I’d wrote in my journal earlier that year that I wanted to show at Art Basel. Then a gallery contacted me shortly after asking if they could bring a couple of my pieces to show there. It catapulted my work into a an entirely new space. That was a moment I had manifested quicker than I ever imagined. The journal manifestations will always be an integral part of my journey.

What are you up to lately with your art and projects?

I’m still working every day, but I haven’t been sharing the work on social media. I think embracing silence and slowness, is where I am at. Every other week I get asked about what I’m working on — and I actually don’t feel ready to show anybody anything at the moment. The new series I’m trying to focus on slowly moving from a focus on being in solitude and shifting more to focusing on the beauty and necessity of community. I’m grateful for this time and that I’m able to take a step back do my own thing on my own terms.

I plan to continue exploring new mediums. Right now I’m in the early stages of working with oils and slowly incorporating it into my work. I still practice photography and I’ve taken a beginner sculpting class, I’m really looking forward to diving more into that and finding ways to express myself through sculpture. I’d also love to eventually do art direction for fashion editorials or film projects.

What has been your favorite show or experience to date?

Being an artist, my favorite experience so far in the journey is probably the first group show I had in New York. It was very early on, but it felt like I officially ripped the Band-Aid off and everything was official. I got to see so many people interact with my work and it was a really special moment.

How would you describe your work in 3 words or less?

Serene, introspective, meditative.

How Megan Gabrielle Harris Is In Her Rest Era