Tessa J Harrison is a Neosurrealist  painter based in Kansas City. The themes  in her work revolve around feminine identity, strength, beauty and the natural world. Her medium of choice is acrylic on wood panel or cotton rag paper. Her paintings are distinctive in their use of color, texture, and composition, collaging together layered images with symbolism and patterns. She blends stylized realism with graphic abstractions and is influenced by mythology, storytelling, art history, science fiction,  and feminine archetypes such as Earth Mother and Wild Woman. 

In August of 2026, Harrison had a  group exhibition, titled “Mutually Exclusive.” This exhibit explores the relationship of jazz and painting through the art of call and response. In March of 2023, she had a Solo Exhibition, “Primordial  Planets: Age of Venus,” at the Vulpes Bastille Gallery. In 2022, she participated in a group exhibition  at the Weinberger  Gallery titled, “The Life You’ve Seen,” which featured  a group of all female identifying  artists in the Kansas City area. 

 Harrison graduated with a BFA in Printmaking  from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2013. During her third year at KCAI, she was selected for a commission by the Nelson Atkins Museum to create an etching demo for the show, “Fine Lines: Whistler and the American Etching Revival.” The commission consisted of a small print, the etching plate for display, and detailed written descriptions of the process. 

Currently she works as a Lead Production Artist and Studio Manager at Porter Teleo, a hand-painted  wallpaper and textile company based in the Crossroads. From 2014-2019,  she worked as a floral designer and fell in love with mastering the art of sculpting with flowers. Becoming a floral designer brought  a new perspective to the work she creates today, especially when it comes to her understanding of color.