Jan Harrison was born on December 18, 1944 in West Palm Beach, Florida. In 1989 she moved to Kingston, New York, from Cincinnati, Ohio, having lived in the Midwest for thirteen years. She has also lived in California and Georgia. The recipient of five fellowships in art, her work is in over one hundred private and museum collections, and she has also produced two house-as-art projects. In addition to painting and sculpture, she speaks and sings in a language, Animal Tongues, which she has performed and included in installations.
Her art has been shown in over one hundred and twenty solo and group exhibitions, including Animal.Anima.Animus, which opened in Finland, and traveled to Holland, Canada, and PS1 in New York. Arcana Mundi, a monograph, was published by Station Hill/Barrytown, Ltd., New York. A chapter on her work is included in the book, In The Making: Creative Options for Contemporary Art, by Linda Weintraub, published by Distributed Art Publishers.
Raised in the southern United States by a single mother, Jan Harrison’s childhood was spent primarily with animals. Her early bestial companions became a spiritual source of identity, as well as a guiding force in her life and work.
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