Artist Susan Harmon will exhibit her Sight/Insight Collection at Howard Payne University until May 1. Susan is the spouse of David Harmon, chair of art at HPU. The collection is housed at the Doakie Day Art Center in the Dorothy and Wendell Mayes Art Gallery.

Susan Harmon holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Georgia Southern University and is currently working on her PhD from Monash University of Melbourne, Australia. Her research is titled “Inside Madness: Painted Stories of People who Suffer from Mental Illness.” The Sight/Insight Collection, which features 15 mixed media pieces, follows this theme. The collection took Harmon seven years to complete.

Each piece is a physical manifestation of Harmon’s emotional responses to stories of suffering. Harmon finds these stories in literature, calling them “the catalyst for the creation of this body of art.”

In an artist statement she wrote, “Stories inspire me to paint. As I scratch, tear and smear paint with my fingers, I try to be honest in my process for expressing my deepest personal feelings toward these passages.”

The Sight/Insight Collection is open to the public for viewing. The gallery hours are Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. or by appointment. For further information, contact David E. Harmon, chair and professor of art at HPU at (325) 649-8088 or via e-mail at [email protected].

Pictured above: Susan Harmon’s “Tangled Up in Blue” is one of the pieces currently on display at HPU.