Peter Harris is drawn to places whose purpose lies somewhere else. Elevators, subway platforms, corridors and parking structures are places we occupy while waiting or passing through. We may be physically there, but our attention is usually already on where we’re going next.

Harris removes the people and holds these spaces still. Without the usual movement and activity, places we barely notice begin to command our attention. An elevator is no longer simply a way to another floor, and a subway platform becomes more than somewhere to wait for a train. Harris turns places designed to be passed through into destinations themselves.

There is something very human in this. We spend so much of our lives thinking about what comes next: the next place, the next appointment, the next arrival. Harris asks us to notice the moments in between. His paintings give our full attention to the parts of life we usually experience only on the way to somewhere else.