From August 4th to 7th, British painter Michael Haran will co-host an exhibition titled “Vision and Colour” with painter Paul Mulvey in London.
Upon first seeing Michael Haran‘s work, it’s hard not to be drawn to the almost fiery colours. Intense reds, blues, yellows, and greens collide and flow within the canvas, their forms sometimes resembling plants, sometimes animals, and sometimes life forms seemingly emerging from the depths of a dream. Standing before his paintings, you experience a wondrous feeling: these paintings are not depicting reality, but rather attempting to open up another world. Most surprising, is the origin of all this is the Amazon rainforest.
From August 4-7, Harlan will return to 54 The Gallery in London’s Mayfair alongside painter Paul Mulvey for “Vision and Colour.” For many viewers, this may just be an ordinary exhibition, but looking deeper you will discover that behind these works lies a life story about letting go, searching, and restarting.
Harlan graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London. In the British art world, Slade is considered one of the most influential art schools, having nurtured important artists such as sculptor Antony Gormley, painter Howard Hodgkin, and Turner Prize winner Paula Rego.
However, after graduation Harlan did not become a professional painter. Instead he worked in the interior design industry for many years. Paintbrushes were put away in drawers, and art gradually receded to the margins of his life.
If the story had ended there, he might have become one of countless people with artistic dreams who ultimately chose other careers. Years later, however, he made a decision that surprised many—to travel alone to Iquitos, deep in the Amazon rainforest in Peru.
He lived there for two and a half years. It was more than just a trip; it was a turning point in his life. Harlan followed the locals, engaging with shamanistic culture and studying their understanding of nature, life, and the spiritual world.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the spiritual world,” he said, “and that experience later permeated all my work.” The Amazon gave him more than just creative inspiration. There, he met his future wife and rediscovered a long-lost connection with painting.
Seven years ago, Harlan picked up his paintbrush again. The Amazon had changed the way he saw things. In his paintings, landscapes were no longer just landscapes, but seemed to possess their own consciousness; the boundaries between plants, animals, and humans blurred; reality and dreams intertwined. He calls some of his works “Dreamtime,” where all life seems to be in a constant state of growth and change.
In recent years, he has developed a “New Pop” series of works centred around “love.” Although the themes have changed, the same core remains behind the works—the connection between people and nature, people and others, and people and their inner selves.
When discussing artistic influences, Harlan mentions names spanning multiple eras: Gauguin’s colors and symbolism, Cy Twombly’s free and calligraphic lines, Lee Krasner and Clyfford Still’s abstract expressionism, Mark Rothko’s emotional color field, and Helen Frankenthaler’s method of allowing paint to naturally permeate the canvas.
He also draws inspiration from music, poetry, and Beat Generation literature. However, what truly permeates his work is the belief that Amazon instilled in him—that there is some deeper connection between all things.
In recent years, Harlan’s work has increasingly appeared in exhibitions. In 2023, he participated in the Florence Biennale with eight works; in 2024, he held a major solo exhibition at 54 The Gallery in London; and in 2025, he held another solo exhibition at Holland Park. For an artist who has restarted his career midway through, such development is undoubtedly encouraging. But more impressive than the exhibitions themselves is his long-standing philanthropic work.
Over the years, he has organized art sales, donating the proceeds to The Upper Room, which helps the homeless, and The Peru Mission, which supports education projects in South America. He has also been involved in fundraising for Amazon rainforest conservation and ecological protection. The land that changed him continues to influence his life.
This time, Paul Mulvey, also an artist from West London, co-hosts the “Vision and Colour” exhibition with him, sponsored by Adamis Principle. The two share a strikingly similar background. Mulvey also left painting for a long period to work in graphic design before returning to the canvas. He is fascinated by Van Gogh and has conducted in-depth research on Van Gogh’s brushstrokes and structure.
Even today, the search that began in the Amazon rainforest seems far from over. The colors still flow across the canvas, the dreams continue to unfold. He continues to try to answer, through painting, the question he began pondering deep in the rainforest years ago: Beyond the world we can see, does another, deeper connection exist?
If you like this article, why not read: Gordon Cheung Exhibition Opens at Close Gallery, Somerset
