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Artist Exhibitions:
JAN HARRISON
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
5/2008 “The Sparky Show,”
SCHROEDER ROMERO / WINKLEMAN
Gallery Project Space, New
York, New York. (Curator:
Nelson Santos)
3/2008 “Women Working Outside
the Box,” BARRETT HOUSE CLAY
WORKS, Poughkeepsie, New York.
2/2008 “The Dream of The Red
Chamber Masquerade Ball,”
Invitational, WHITE BOX, New
...
Further Information
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Artist Galleries:
Coming Soon!
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Artist Reviews:
Essay by George Quasha.
copyright 2001
Reading by George Quasha,
9/15/01
Kleinert/James Arts Center,
Woodstock, New York
Crossing Over to Jan Harrison
One reason why we don't easily
experience other dimensions is
our fear of
meeting up with monstrous
otherness. We fear fusion. We
are careful ...
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Collections:
Jan Harrison
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:
THE WEXNER CENTER FOR THE
VISUAL ARTS, Columbus, Ohio,
USA
SAMUEL DORSKY MUSEUM OF ART,
New Paltz, New York, USA
CINCINNATI ART MUSEUM,
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
ARCO CENTER FOR THE VISUAL
ARTS, Los Angeles, California,
USA
CINCINNATI BELL CORPORATION,
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
THE DAYTON ART INSTITUTE, ...
Further Information
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Commissions:
Coming Soon!
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Artist Statement for Jan Harrison
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A close connection with the animal nature has helped me to have more empathy with all manifestations of the life force, and to express the complex experience of what it is to be here as a flesh and blood being.
As long as I can remember, I have loved animals and felt a kinship with them. I live with five cats, all rescued strays, and one feral. They are an inspiration to me, and I learn from them.
Emotion has always played a part in my work, as well as the kind of mythology that comes from the body's sensual and spiritual desires, something felt in the bones and cells. I am concerned about the need for love in a world that does not respect vulnerability. I am also concerned about the need for self respect in a world that seems to disrespect the power of the life force.
I am working for my character, and my work is concerned with the paradox of the power of nature with regard to our own sense of order or justice. Through communion with the animal nature, I am interested in the integration of instinct and intellect, knowledge and innocence, power and weakness, sacred and profane.
The images go through a metamorphosis as I caress and scrape the surface. The dogs, cats, birds, sea creatures, and other animals in the paintings and sculptures twist around, flip over, and take on new form, becoming beings such as birdfish. From the beginning of my work in the 1980's, animals have merged with other animals, as they cross species and become hybrids.
In addition to encaustic mixed-media on panel paintings, and mixed media pastel paintings on paper, I speak in a language, “Animal Tongues,” which has been included in multimedia installations of porcelain sculptures. “Animal Tongue” acts as a bridge to the world beneath the surface, and enables me to live and see clearly.
Originating from a love of the natural world, my work finds a connection between the “reptilian brain” and altruism. Occurring from a place similar to dreams, and acted out within an inner landscape, the images reestablish a link with the wonder and mystery of the life force.
Jan Harrison's paintings, sculptures, and installations involve empathy with the animal nature as it relates to human existence. A long time advocate for the respect of animals, she speaks in a language, Animal Tongue, which has been included as part of sculptural installations. Her work was included in the exhibition Animal.Anima.Animus, which opened in Finland and was exhibited at PS1. Arcana Mundi, a book spanning twenty years of her work, was published in 2001 by Station Hill/Barrytown, Ltd., New York. In 2003, a chapter regarding her work was included in the book, In The Making: Creative Options for Contemporary Art, by Linda Weintraub, published by D.A.P., Distributed Art Publishers, Inc., New York, NY.
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