Joan Harmon

Joan Harmon is an award-winning sculptor, mixed media artist, and art professor working in the New York City area.

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About

Artist Statement

My work explores natural forms, patterns of flow and metamorphosis. I set up a real/unreal situation, exploring our physical response to the natural world and the suggestion of narrative, metaphorical or mythological associations. I am interested in the visual hybrid - the transformation that happens when two seemingly unrelated forms combine to invoke a new experience. I search for connections, invite reverie, and try to find the play between the physical and the emotional.

About Joan

Joan Harmon received her Bachelor's Degree of Fine Arts from the California College of Art, and her Master's of Fine Arts from Rutgers University. She has been awarded an honorarium from Black Rock City (Burning Man 2017), a Fellowship from the Creative Glass Center of America (2014), an Arist’s Grant from the Sari Dienes Foundation (2013), as well as numerous other International and National awards. Joan Harmon’s studio is in Haverstraw, NY. She teaches at the City University of New York and New York University at La Pietra, Florence, Italy. Harmon currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Sari Dienes Foundation.

Exhibitions

2019	  Drawing With Fire, Spring SoHo Natural, New York, NY - Solo Exhibition
	  New Work on Paper, Union Art Center, Sparkhill, New York, NY - Solo Exhibition
	  Room, Loveland Museum Art Gallery, Loveland, CO - Group Exhibition
	  Women’s Work, Old Court House Arts Center, Woodstock, IL - Group Exhibition
	  Clay Matters, Epperson Gallery, Crockett, CA - Group Exhibition
2018	  Viridian Artists Inc. Twenty-ninth International Juried Exhibition
	  Transitional Spaces, Mercy Gallery, Richmond Art Center
2017	  "Totem Orchestra," interactive sculpture, Black Rock City, NV
2016	  "Contemporary Perspectives: Drawing on Big Ideas," Lewis Art Gallery, Jackson, MS
	  "Dissection," Downtown Artery, Fort Collins, Colorado
	  Garner Arts Festival, Garnerville, NY
2015	  "Governors Island Art Fair," New York, NY
	  "Natures Eyes," Sculpture in the Garden, Back to Earth Living, Pomona, NY
	  "Stream of Consciousness" Installation, Garner Arts Center
	  "Nature, Inc." Rockland Center for the Arts, West Nyack, NY - Group Exhibition
	  "The Body in Eden" Wayfarers Gallery, Brooklyn, NY - Group Exhibition
2013	  "Re-Imagine" Exhibition, Garner Art Center, Garnerville, NY
	  Members Exhibition, Rockland Center for the Arts, West Nyack, NY
	  "Aftermaeth," Phoenix Gallery, New York, NY - Solo Exhibition
2012	  Members Group Exhibition, Phoenix Gallery, New York, NY
2011	  "River That Runs Both Ways," Phoenix Gallery, New York, NY - Two Person Exhibition
2010	  "River Drawings," Arts Alliance of Haverstraw, Haverstraw, NY - Solo Exhibition
2009    "Vessels," Phoenix Gallery, New York, NY - Solo Exhibition      
	  "Fluidity and Fragments," Phoenix Gallery, New York, NY - Three Person Show 
2008    Peekskill Project, Hudson Valley Contemporary Art Center - Group Exhibition
	  50th Anniversary Exhibition, Phoenix Gallery, New York, NY - Group Exhibition
	  Eric Laxman Gallery, Garnerville, NY - Group Exhibition
2007    New Members Show, Phoenix Gallery, New York, NY - Group Exhibition
	  River Stone Arts Gallery, Haverstraw, NY - Group Exhibition
	  Sioux Falls Sculpture Walk, Sioux Falls, SD - Sculpture Park
	  Phoenix Gallery, New York, NY - Group Exhibition
2006    Court Gallery, Ben Shahn Center, William Patterson University - Faculty Exhibition
	  Net Gallery, Florence, Italy - Group Exhibition
2005    Biennale Internazionale Dell'Arte Contemporanea, Florence, Italy - Group Exhibition
	  Rockland Center for the Arts, West Nyack, NY - Sculpture Park
	  Kingston Sculpture Biennial, Kingston, NY - Group Exhibition
2004    Rockland Center for the Arts, West Nyack, NY - Sculpture Park
	  Rockland County Day School - Sculpture Park
	  Hopper House Art Museum, Nyack, NY - Installation
2003    Islip Art Museum, Islip, NY - Group Exhibition
	  GAGA Gallery, Garnerville, NY - Installation 
2002    Brooklyn Pier Show, BWAC - Group Exhibition
2001    Ramapo College, Mahwah, NJ - Adjunct Faculty Exhibition 
2000    Hopper House Art Museum - Two Person Exhibition
	  Studio Four West, Nyack, NY - Group Exhibition
1998    Bristol Art Museum - Group Exhibition
	  Cork Gallery, Lincoln Center, NY - Group Exhibition
	  Rockland Center for the Arts - Group Exhibition
1997    93 South, Nyack, NY - Two Person Exhibition
1995    Franklin Furnace, Group Exhibition
1992    "Joan Harmon, New Work," Pindar Gallery, New York, NY, Solo Exhibition 
1991    Experimental Glass Workshop, Two Person Exhibition 
1988    Independent Curators Inc., The Puck Building, Group Exhibition
1987    Real Art Ways, Hartford, Connecticut, Two Person Exhibition 
1986    La Galeria En El Bohio, New York, NY, Group Exhibition

Contact

Please feel free to inquire about prices or simply leave a message at harmon_joan@yahoo.com, or visit my Art Shape Mammoth page.

Galleries

Sculpture

Pia Mater

Length - 60"
Materials - fired clay
This piece works with the concept of interdependency; clustering forms that speak to each other in relationship - nestling and supportive - aligned in a responsive way. Pat Hickman, Emeritus Professor of Art, University of Hawaii writes, "Harmon makes fired clay soft, pushing limits of what her material can convey. Her vessels speak in a gestural relationship, so life like."

Pia Mater (detail)

Length - 60"
Materials - fired clay
This piece works with the concept of interdependency; clustering forms that speak to each other in relationship - nestling and supportive - aligned in a responsive way. Pat Hickman, Emeritus Professor of Art, University of Hawaii writes, "Harmon makes fired clay soft, pushing limits of what her material can convey. Her vessels speak in a gestural relationship, so life like."

Volute

Height - 75"
Materials - hydrostone
The word Volute means an upward spiral movement. This piece is based on the shape that smoke takes when a particular note is played on the organ. To me it is a visual musical note.

Spinal Column

Height - 84"
Materials - fired clay, wood, and metal spikes
This piece references a recurring theme in my work - carnal architecture - bones and organs becoming architectural forms and architecture or furniture becoming landscape or body. The design of the spine allows the ability to stand erect and protects the spinal chord which enervates the being.

Spinal Column (detail)

Height - 84"
Materials - fired clay, wood, and metal spikes
This piece references a recurring theme in my work - carnal architecture - bones and organs becoming architectural forms and architecture or furniture becoming landscape or body. The design of the spine allows the ability to stand erect and protects the spinal chord which enervates the being.

Inverted Riverbed

Dimensions - 30' x 28" x 12"
Materials - cement, sod

Inverted Riverbed (detail)

Dimensions - 30' x 28" x 12"
Materials - cement, sod

Salvage

Height - 42"
Materials - fired clay, cast cement
One definition of this word is, "...the act of saving anything in danger." The cast human fingers holding up the top piece of the broken vessel create a visual metaphor.

Footed Pillow II

Dimensions - life-size
Materials - cast glass, light
This piece is another hybrid piece - a contemporary version of an ancient Egyptian footed bowl - creating a humorous but poignant image of sanctuary or ritual.

Footed Pillow

Dimensions - life-size
Materials - ceramic, cement
This piece is another hybrid piece - a contemporary version of an ancient Egyptian footed bowl - creating a humorous but poignant image of sanctuary or ritual.

Internal Organ Series #1

Dimensions - 10" x 30" x 2"
Materials - cast paper, encaustic, and wood

Internal Organ Series #2

Dimensions - 14" x 26" x 2"
Materials - cast paper, encaustic, and wood

The Soft Animal of Your Body

Dimensions - 30"
Materials - fired clay

Molten River

Dimensions - 60" x 10" x 4"
Materials - wax and light

Molten River (detail)

Dimensions - 60" x 10" x 4"
Materials - wax and light

Vessels

Height - 35"
Materials - fired clay
In this body of work, I am investigating one of my first loves - the malleability of clay - a connection to an ancient, primal way of making - desiring that moment of pulling something formed by hands from the fire, transformed into a solid form. The pure form of the vessels began to take on various human qualities, i.e., yearning or nurturing. Inside/outside space becomes important - the mystery of the inside space. The pieces became resonant sound amplifiers, and viewers were encouraged to actively listen to the sculptures as actual sound pieces or, more conceptually in "Auditory Vessel," the piece becomes a receptacle for secrets told.

Suppliant

Height - 35"
Materials - fired clay

Auditory Vessel

Height - 35"
Materials - fired clay

Auditory Vessel (detail)

Height - 35"
Materials - fired clay

Untitled

Dimensions - 32" x 18" x 10"
Materials - tulipwood

Rosebud

Height - 11'
Materials - pine

Flames

Dimensions - 7" x 38" x 36"
Materials - pigmented cement
The intense physiological vibration of the color red is constant. Fire and blood are the strongest references - elemental heat and life force. This piece is a symbolic fire - the idea of flames in a concrete form.

Totem

Height - 11'
Materials - tulipwood

Totem (detail)

Height - 11'
Materials - tulipwood

Iron Spiral

Height - 75"
Materials - cast iron, cement

Safe in My Own Skin

Dimensions - life-size
Materials - steel, light, cast paper

Prickly Torso

Dimensions - 16" x 17" x 9"
Materials - wax

Seated Figure

Height - 70"
Materials - black walnut, steel, cement

Cobra

Height - 60"
Materials - black walnut, steel, cement

Trophy

Dimensions - 52" x 24" x 12"
Materials - mixed media

Phalanx Prima

Height - 60"
Materials - mixed media

Ileum

Dimensions - 60" x 45" x 6"
Materials - mixed media

Reliquary

Dimensions - 36" x 18" x 6"
Materials - mixed media with coal and moss
The reliquary is a repository for sacred objects—the pieces in this series are providing sanctuary for materials and images that are perhaps endangered or resonate with personal experience.

Reliquary II

Dimensions - 32" x 32" x 6"
Materials - horsehair, hydrostone, mixed media
The reliquary is a repository for sacred objects—the pieces in this series are providing sanctuary for materials and images that are perhaps endangered or resonate with personal experience.

Drawing

Night River

Dimensions - 120" x 24"
Materials - oil on linen

Hudson River #1

Dimensions - 11" x 59"
Materials - charcoal on paper on canvas
Bear Mountain to Manhattan Island

Hudson River #2

Dimensions - 17" x 59"
Materials - charcoal on paper on canvas
Bear Mountain to Palisades

Hudson River #3

Dimensions - 90" x 44"
Materials - charcoal on paper
Jones Point to Hook Mountain

Hudson River #4

Dimensions - 30" x 58"
Materials - oil and gouache on paper on canvas
Mystery Point to Hook Mountain

Hudson River #5

Dimensions - 12" x 64"
Materials - oil on paper on canvas
Bear Mountain to Manhattan Island

Sacrum 1

Dimensions - 8" x 10"
Materials - watercolor, pen and ink

Dark Heart

Dimensions - 22" x 27"
Materials - charcoal on paper

Under the Shadow of Vesuvius

Dimensions - 8' x 15'
Materials - acrylic on muslin

Bird Woman

Dimensions - 30" x 22"
Materials - burned paper drawn with molten glass

Bloom

Dimensions - 30" x 22"
Materials - burned paper drawn with molten glass

Figure

Dimensions - 30" x 22"
Materials - burned paper drawn with molten glass

Figure 2

Dimensions - 30" x 22"
Materials - burned paper drawn with molten glass

Heart

Dimensions - 30" x 22"
Materials - burned paper drawn with molten glass

Pitcher

Dimensions - 30" x 22"
Materials - burned paper drawn with molten glass

Waterlily

Dimensions - 30" x 22"
Materials - burned paper drawn with molten glass

Untitled

Dimensions - 30" x 22"
Materials - burned paper drawn with molten glass

Untitled

Dimensions - 30" x 22"
Materials - burned paper drawn with molten glass

Untitled

Dimensions - 30" x 22"
Materials - burned paper drawn with molten glass

Untitled

Dimensions - 22" x 30"
Materials - burned paper drawn with molten glass

Untitled

Dimensions - 30" x 22"
Materials - burned paper drawn with molten glass

Untitled

Dimensions - 30" x 22"
Materials - burned paper drawn with molten glass

Untitled

Dimensions - 30" x 22"
Materials - burned paper drawn with molten glass

Untitled

Dimensions - 30" x 22"
Materials - burned paper drawn with molten glass

Untitled

Dimensions - 30" x 22"
Materials - burned paper drawn with molten glass

Bassin d'Arachon

Dimensions - 34" x 44"
Materials - charcoal on paper on canvas
Southwest France

Floating Black Form

Dimensions - 23" x 30"
Materials - charcoal, graphite

Untitled

Dimensions - 23" x 30"
Materials - charcoal

Footpath

Dimensions - 23" x 30"
Materials - charcoal

Totem

Dimensions - 16" x 22"
Materials - charcoal

Untitled

Dimensions - 42" x 36"
Materials - gouache

Untitled

Dimensions - 38" x 34"
Materials - charcoal

Stream

Dimensions - 72" x 42"
Materials - charcoal

Embryo

Dimensions - 22" x 16"
Materials - pastel

Untitled

Dimensions - 60" x 48"
Materials - oil on paper

Ironheart

Dimensions - 38" x 34"
Materials - charcoal, oil

Ritual Landscape

Dimensions - 22" x 16"
Materials - pastel

Installation

Totem Orchestra

Dimensions - 10'
Materials - mixed media
The Totem Orchestra is three mixed media interactive sculptures each of which is a shrine to a particular class of vertebrate: Aves (bird), Fish (humpback whale fluke) and Mammalia (stag). The primary materials are wood and steel. Each sculpture is comprised of original fabricated musical instruments joined together in totemic forms that can be played by participants.

Totem Orchestra (daylight)

Dimensions - 10'
Materials - mixed media
The Totem Orchestra is three mixed media interactive sculptures each of which is a shrine to a particular class of vertebrate: Aves (bird), Fish (humpback whale fluke) and Mammalia (stag). The primary materials are wood and steel. Each sculpture is comprised of original fabricated musical instruments joined together in totemic forms that can be played by participants.

An Ocean We Call Sky

Diameter - 6'
Materials - cast cement feet submerged in water with projected clouds
We walk the bottom of an ocean we call sky.

Stream of Consciousness

Dimensions - variable
Materials - cast glass, mixed media, light, sound
A child-size bed in a small field of grass with an illuminated cast glass stream-like form and pillow is in a darkened room. The sound element is of a child’s dream—children’s voices playing merging with sounds of the inner body.

Stream of Consciousness

Dimensions - variable
Materials - cast glass, mixed media, light, sound
A child-size bed in a small field of grass with an illuminated cast glass stream-like form and pillow is in a darkened room. The sound element is of a child’s dream—children’s voices playing merging with sounds of the inner body.

Aftermaeth

Dimensions - variable
Materials - boat fragment, cast cement, cast paper, light, sound
The inspiration for "Aftermaeth" is that moment after a storm when all is quiet in the wake of extreme violence. Our manmade world is rearranged and rewoven with nature's forces and a new charged moment experienced. Another reference is an excerpt from Herman Melville's Moby Dick, "The Lee Shore" which seemed to resonate with the sculptural moment I envisioned. Here is a small portion of the excerpt I have included in the aural aspect of the sculpture... "Glimpses do ye seem to see of that mortally intolerable truth; that all deep, earnest thinking is but the intrepid effort of the soul to keep the open independence of her sea; while the wildest winds of heaven and earth conspire to cast her on the treacherous, slavish shore?"

Aftermaeth (detail)

Dimensions - variable
Materials - boat fragment, cast cement, cast paper, light, sound
The inspiration for "Aftermaeth" is that moment after a storm when all is quiet in the wake of extreme violence. Our manmade world is rearranged and rewoven with nature's forces and a new charged moment experienced. Another reference is an excerpt from Herman Melville's Moby Dick, "The Lee Shore" which seemed to resonate with the sculptural moment I envisioned. Here is a small portion of the excerpt I have included in the aural aspect of the sculpture... "Glimpses do ye seem to see of that mortally intolerable truth; that all deep, earnest thinking is but the intrepid effort of the soul to keep the open independence of her sea; while the wildest winds of heaven and earth conspire to cast her on the treacherous, slavish shore?"

Submerged

Diameter - 6'
Materials - cement, plexiglass, water, light
The circle is an archetypal symbol of wholeness and infinity. Being underwater suggests weightlessness as well as not being able to breathe. The feet are traveling, but are on an endless journey.

Submerged (detail)

Diameter - 6'
Materials - cement, plexiglass, water, light
The circle is an archetypal symbol of wholeness and infinity. Being underwater suggests weightlessness as well as not being able to breathe. The feet are traveling, but are on an endless journey.

Soles

Diameter - 6'
Materials - cast cement, sod

Soles (detail)

Diameter - 6'
Materials - cast cement, sod

Tree Dream

Dimensions - variable
Materials - installation with video projection
The mythological reference to Homer's "Odyssey" is invoked with the bed being rooted to the earth, while the projection of wind on an illusionary sail invokes journey, adventure, and the unfettered freedom of the unconscious mind.

Riverbed

Dimensions - variable
Materials - mixed media installation with light, movement, and sound
Water holds a balance between extremes of solidification and evaporation, always retaining its possibilities of transformation. The river becomes the body, the vehicle for dreams.

Riverbed (detail)

Dimensions - variable
Materials - mixed media installation with light, movement, and sound
Water holds a balance between extremes of solidification and evaporation, always retaining its possibilities of transformation. The river becomes the body, the vehicle for dreams.

Footpath

Length - 60'
Materials - site specific installation with life-size cast cement feet
In this piece, I am setting up several inversions. A path emerges from a tree, leads to the water, enters the water, and disappears. The path is also visually the thing that is walking. The other inversion that interests me in this work is the exposure of the feet - that part of the human form that is rarely seen, except in more private, intimate situations. This vulnerable part of the body is now exposed and disconnected, and given a new relationship to the earth. The narrative that is suggested by these several hundred feet could also be that of an exodus or a crossing - the suggestion of humankind, instead of the individual.

Footpath (origin)

Length - 60'
Materials - site specific installation with life-size cast cement feet
In this piece, I am setting up several inversions. A path emerges from a tree, leads to the water, enters the water, and disappears. The path is also visually the thing that is walking. The other inversion that interests me in this work is the exposure of the feet - that part of the human form that is rarely seen, except in more private, intimate situations. This vulnerable part of the body is now exposed and disconnected, and given a new relationship to the earth. The narrative that is suggested by these several hundred feet could also be that of an exodus or a crossing - the suggestion of humankind, instead of the individual.