Raquel Erin Harter (b. Sacramento, CA) paints to address the fickle nature of memories by resurfacing her own experiences and emotions through explorative portraiture. Her pieces investigate memory as a landscape of love, temporality, and fabrication. They address the absence of emotional connection that surfaces in the presence of mental illness and familial trauma while simultaneously seeking to honor childhood experiences by cementing them in tangible pieces of rediscovery. From fear and grief to overwhelming love stifled by physical distance, emotions captured in memory pave the way for Raquel to explore human connection in all of its nuances through a subjective lens. 

Colors play significant roles in her paintings due to the emotional reactions they evoke, and the messages they’re often inscribed with. Vivid hues emphasize the presence of good despite the presence of bad while also referencing the capacity for vibrance one can feel when truly grounded in the present moment, a sensation lost when grappling with mental illness. Looser gestural strokes and translucent drips combine with more tightly rendered portraiture to allude to the confusing inconsistencies entangled in the concept of memorial tangibility.

Education

2023-2027 (in progress)
University of California, San Diego

Bachelors in Studio Arts with Honors
Bachelors in Art History
Minor in Entrepreneurship & Innovation