Echoes by Blakelee Harmon, Oil on Canvas

Identity relies on the level of observation in time} Blakelee Harmon is an emerging artist based in New York City who has dedicated her life to creating work that bonds human souls. She developed her sense of composition first through dance, exploring movement and stillness, music and silence, light and darkness, giving and taking, boundaries and abandon. Blakelee attended Marymount Manhattan for a bachelor's degree in dance media where she also trained in oil painting and photography. She began using each of these mediums in tandem to explore concepts and inform the finished piece of work, and continues to use this method. Whatever strikes her in her daily routine is recorded and reflected in the chapter of each painting she is working on. Blakelee believes that if you are truly present, the universe will expose specific messages that will guide each of us to a greater state of awareness. She believes it is each person’s responsibility to develop through constantly evaluating personal circumstances.By sharing her own evaluation process for each painting, Blakelee hopes to connect with the viewer’s understanding of their personal life experiences and expose the complications of consciousness. In this current collection, Blakelee draws attention to the importance of women’s spirituality. Women are suffering at the hands of regular political attacks on their choices, shame at their biology, and discrimination-based inequality; out of necessity, women must establish a strong sense of self before looking outward and trying to right the effects of those wrongs. Connecting to ourselves and connecting to the earth are the first steps into finding a true center, and from that center we can move beyond ourselves and into the political. From center, we can find truth and drive and love, and only once we have found them for ourselves can we begin to share. Blakelee has choreographed twice for Marymount Manhattan’s “Dancers at Work” showcase,  trained with Ellen Robbins at New York Live Arts, and placed in the top ten at New York Dance Festival 2013 for choreography. Her artwork has been featured as a finalist in the Contemporary Art Room online exhibit, as well as Artist Portfolio Magazine. She has been a part of New York State of Mind exhibit and exhibited work at One Art Space Gallery. She is currently showcasing her work at NYA Gallery and 1st Dibs Gallery in Manhattan New York.