Mark Davis Sculpture at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

Mark Davis is currently working on a number of important public and private commissions, including a major exterior mobile for Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.  This large-scale installation will span approximately 70 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 10 feet tall, and will become an exciting and inviting addition to the Hospital entrance. Below is an image of a part of the sculpture being installed.

You can follow the journey of Davis drawing, designing, creating, delivering and installing the custom mobile on the very own blog website made specifically for this purpose, which can be found here!

We are also excited to announce that the Harrison Gallery will be featuring Mark Davis in our June 2013 show. We will keep you posted with further dates and a complete show schedule in the coming months!

Petria Mitchell

Flowing South #1, Oil on Canvas, 10 x 10 inches

An article about Petria Mitchell is featured in the September/October issue of Artscope.

The article gives great insight to Mitchell's creative process and inspiration as a painter. "My paintings begin as an emotional and spiritual response to shapes in the natural environment, " says Mitchell. "Creating a cohesive compositional structure instills a sense of well-being and equanimity in myself and the viewer."

To read the entire article pick up a copy of the September/October 2012 issue of Artscope, or contact us at the gallery.  And don't forget to check out our December show entitled Riverscapes, which will feature new paintings by Petria Mitchell, as well as, Jane Bloodgood-Abrams and John MacDonald

Mark Davis's "Intersection II"

The large Mark Davis mobile that hung in the gallery for over a year has found a new home. While we dearly miss seeing the mobile everyday, the new owners have shared with us just how truly inspired they are by the work, bringing them joy as they had been waiting years for the perfect piece of art to finish their living room.

Recently, Davis shared with us his inspiration for "Intersection II" :

        “For a long time I had wanted to try the idea of a "rainstorm" of little discs.  I must have spent three weekstrying one thing after another, to find a grouping and style that fit my vision.  Finally I felt I had it, the little discs falling in succession, high to low, with the structure it was suspended from being jointed so the whole piece had movement.

       I let it sit in my workshop another week or two, trying to decide what to add to it to give it more substance.  My feeling was that the piece did not seem complete yet.

       Finally one day I cut up large sheets of black poster board and hung them around the upper section, and I felt it was the right direction to go.  It gave the whole piece the feeling of rain but with some kind of landscape or clouds giving it an anchor to flow within.

       So ultimately it became two separate mobiles that were joined together.  I was really pleased with the strength and lightness working together.  

       It was a joy to make.”

Stanley Bielen



Paeonia, Oil on Panel, 26 x 20 inches



White & Crimson, Oil on Panel,
18 7/8 x 13 1/4 inches

We are very excited about our September show which will feature the still life paintings by Philadelphia artist Stanley Bielen.

Bielen’s work honors the European heritage of still life painting with high color, lush blossoms placed against almost velvety backgrounds.  His small, intimate oils capture floral elegance with sweeping brushwork, portraying the momentary beauty of a flower in full bloom.

Stanley Bielen, born in Poland, emigrated to Philadelphia and attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, graduating in 1980. Bielen is currently a faculty member at the Fleisher Art Memorial of the Philadelphia Museum of Art; he also teaches painting workshops throughout Philadelphia and New England.

In 2006 when the Thomas Jefferson University wanted to sell Thomas Eakins’s“The Gross Clinic”, Bielen organized a demonstration that drew some three dozen Philadelphia artists to help in the fight to keep the masterpiece in it’s hometown of Philadelphia. Today, the painting is at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

A Visit to Hale Johnson's Studio

As part of our summer events, Hale Johnson hosted a studio visit, opening up his studio in Colrain, MA to collectors and admirers of his paintings.

Johnson's studio is a true reflection of himself : a warm space that is both welcoming and interesting. Filled with books and wooden ships on the shelves, model airplanes suspended from the ceiling, photographs, old ceramic signs, and paintings collected on the walls.

It was a delightful and inspiring afternoon that let visitors explore the artist and the inspiration behind the breathtaking paintings we love.

John MacDonald's Paintings In His Own Words

Our July show features Williamstown artist John MacDonald. At the show opening MacDonald always has great stories and enthusiasm for the stories behind his paintings. He shared with us his inspirations and process of 3 of his paintings in the July show.

The Cascade
"One of the joys, and challenges, of plein air painting is to allow a painting to develop on its own terms, without insisting it stick to a preconceived image in my head. When I began this little oil sketch, I was most attracted to the subtle tones of the rocks along the stream and in the background. But I found that I simply couldn’t resist the immense tranquility of the scene nor the beauty of the water. The rocks became simplified and the subject switched to the beautiful play of light and color in the water and the overall mood of the scene".

November Reflections

"This scene along the Green River which I have painted repeatedly. It never fails to attract and challenge me. The play of the verticals of the trees against the diagonals of the water and hills, the ever-changing and abstract quality of the reflections, the very simple geometric structure underlying the complexity of the scene--they all push me to my limits as a painter. I understand now why Monet was so attracted to scene of trees along a river bank".

Last Light

"The fields and meadows along Sloan Roadhave provided me with a nearly limitless supply of interesting scenes, in every season, at every time of day, and under any sort of weather. Over several winters, while driving down Sloan Road as the sun was setting, I noticed how it caught the end of a far meadow and the trees beyond. There was a tension between the timeless stillness of the scene and the quick, fleeting and fading light that simply demanded being captured in paint. Perhaps more than any work I’ve recently done, this painting shows the influence of one of my earliest favorites, George Inness".

The Story Behind the Painting: Gail Sauter



Stroll, Oil on Panel, 36 x 36 inches

Our June Show show, The Young Collector, featured artist Gail Sauter who always has fascinating stories from her travels that inspire her paintings.

While speaking with her about her new paintings for the show, she told this story about the painting "Stroll": " This was in Venice, at the end of  busy tourist street. The woman was walking past Venitian homes, away from the the tourist, surrounded by buildings built in the 1500's. She is living her life the way people did 100's of years ago; I just saw such tranquility in this scene, this moment, this lifestyle. "