“Telephone,” oil on canvas, 2012 A collection of candid photographs documenting the lives of relatives and family friends — some of whom she has never even met — inspired Karissa Harvey to reinterpret the images into works of art.
An exhibit of this work, “Family Portraits,” will be at Ruben’s World Gallery, 716 Cookman Ave., Asbury Park, through Feb. 2.
The artist’s grandfather and greatgrandfather appear in many of Harvey’s family photos — which span from the 1930s to the 1990s — and were the main inspiration behind the collection at Ruben’s.
“I was very close with my grandfather growing up and don’t remember many moments when he didn’t have a camera close at hand. His father was equally, if not even more, intrigued with capturing images on film. He had his own darkroom as well as an extensive array of cameras, lens enlargers and projectors,” she explained in an artist statement.
“Three’s a Crowd,” oil on canvas, 2012 Harvey’s reinterpretation of the family photos provided her with an opportunity to collaborate with her grandfathers.
“By working with images they captured, I can carry on the legacy, so to speak.”
An artist based in Farmingdale, Harvey’s first solo show took place at the Monmouth Museum in Lincroft in September as part of the Emerging Artists Series. Her work has been shown at galleries in California and locally in Red Bank and New Egypt. To view more of her work, visit www.karissaharvey.com or Karissa- HarveyFineArt on Facebook.