Sparta artist Alice Harrison to exhibit works at Sussex Community College

Newton - Alice Harrison, a resident of Sparta, will exhibit her multimedia art, along with “The Bag Ladies,” an installation created with Judy Lyons Schneider, from June 22 through Aug 21 at the Sussex County Community College Art Gallery. The public is invited to attend the opening reception from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 22, at the gallery, located on the college campus at One College Hill Rd. in Newton. Harrison’s work has been exhibited widely in galleries and universities throughout the U.S., as well as in Europe, Mexico and New Zealand. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards. Harrison’s paintings are found in many private, as well as public and corporate, collections. She has received several Geraldine R. Dodge grants and is included in Outstanding Artists and Designers of the 20th Century, published in England. Her work encompasses a variety of media - wood sculptures as well as paintings in oil, acrylic, watercolor, transfers, prints, photography, encaustic, found papers, and a variety of found objects - natural and man-made. In each work there may be one or many media combined. “The Bag Ladies” is a collaborative series of framed constructions of handmade masks, artifacts, and props. Each mask is contained within or breaking out of a shopping bag. The bags are housed in boxes to signify external or self-imposed limits. “The Bag Ladies” assemblages provide a personal commentary on the two women’s experiences before the women’s movement. The project was a multi-layered endeavor, blending the individual aesthetics of the artists into a single vision. Schneider, Harrison’s collaborating partner, will also be part of the exhibit. Both artists received a Soaring Gardens Art Retreat residency grant to work on “The Bag Ladies.” A native New Yorker, Schneider spent most of her adult life in suburban New Jersey. She has also received a Geraldine R. Dodge grant. Schneider works in multi-layers and mixes media, preferring print making and collage. She has received numerous awards and her work has traveled to museums and universities throughout the country and, most recently, to the Novgorod Fine Arts Museum in Russia. Schneider is on the board of the Art Center Sarasota, Fla., is Area III chairperson for Florida Artist Group, and is the immediate past president of Women’s Contemporary Artists. The Gallery at SCCC is located in Building C. The exhibition is free and open to the public. For information or directions, call 973-300-2100 or log on to sussex.edu. For more information about the artists, log on to aliceharrison.artspan.com, bagladies.artspan.com, or judyschneider.artspan.com.