Artist's Statement

Working at the intersection of vision and healing, my art process is guided by a passion for learning and a yearning for harmony. Using paint and fiber, I combine contrasting colors with interlocking lines and shapes to create unity and drama.

My art runs parallel to my sense of identity and belonging. It’s about finding balance and seeing anew.

The healing arts and former work as a visual and occupational therapist inform my understanding of my art practice as a therapeutic activity. I’m inspired by the island vibrancy of Jamaica and its national motto: “Out of many, one people.”

Belonging is the experience of harmony and oneness; similarly, healing is a process of maintaining balance, harmony and wholeness. I create all of this with my art.

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Artist's Biography

Sharon Bloomfield Hicks is a Philadelphia-based artist and member of the Portuguese-Jamaican diaspora. Her work is distinguished by bold color combinations, large shapes and active figure-ground relationships. While informed by in-depth studies at the Barnes Foundation including paintings by Matisse, Modigliani, and Picasso; her aesthetic sensibilities reflect her Caribbean roots. Adhering to a belief in the interconnection between art and healing, she synthesizes fiber techniques with painterly intentions to create fresh uplifting work which expresses the harmony and well-being she desires to see in the world.

Hicks holds a BFA in painting from Tyler School of Art and an MS in occupational therapy from Philadelphia University. A member at Da Vinci Art Alliance in Philadelphia, her solo show Concepts & Compositions explored the yin and yang in art, health and life in 2022. Works by Hicks have been included in exhibitions at the Delaware Contemporary, Philadelphia Art Alliance, State Museum of Pennsylvania, Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Galleries at Moore College of Art and Design, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Third Street Gallery, Nexus and other venues.

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Education

2009
Master of Science, Occupational Therapy, Philadelphia University, Philadelphia, PA

1998 - 2001
Scholarship, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Advanced Theoretical and Critical Studies in the Fine Arts for Educators, Part 1 and Part 2, held at the Barnes Foundation, Merion Station, PA

1993 - 1995
Graduate Studies, Textile Design, Philadelphia College of Textiles and Sciences, Philadelphia, PA

1987 - 1989
Philosophy, Aesthetics and Traditions of Art, The Barnes Foundation, Merion Station, PA

1985 - 1986
Apprenticeship, the Fabric Workshop, Philadelphia, PA

1982
Bachelor of Fine Art, Cum Laude, Painting and Fabric Design, Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, PA

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Bibliography

Taking a Line for a Walk, Park Towne Place, 2023 (Catalog)

Zimmaro, Mark, “Bloomfield Hicks Opens Exhibition at Da Vinci AA”, South Philly Review,
Oct. 18, 2022

Shankin-Skwersky, Sarina, “Ebbing Away, Yet Writing Away”, Remembering Vio - Violette de Mazia: Director of Education and Spirit of the Barnes Foundation, Kopel Publishing, 2019

Wills, Brendan, “Norristown Arts Building Holds Opening Reception for Pagus Gallery”, Times Herald, Nov. 2013

Donohoe, Victoria, “Temple Shalom, Sharon Hicks”, The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 2002

Puleo, Gary, “Norristown Artists’ Building Breathes New Life into Former Costume Factory”, Dec. 1997

Effie, graphite drawing, Vistas, Vol. IV, No. 2, Barnes Foundation Press, 1989 (Reproduction)

Untitled, acrylic on canvas, Art Matters, 1988 (Reproduction)

Landscape, mixed media, silk banner, Art Matters, 1987 (Reproduction)

Sozanski, Edward J., “On Galleries”, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 1987

Brenton, E. Y., “Art / The Fabric Workshop”, South Street Star, Feb. 1987

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Affiliations

InLiquid

Da Vinci Art Alliance

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Professional Experience

2024
‍Exploring Caribbean Transnational Identity through Art, Caribbean Literacy Lecture Series, Part 2, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA

2003 - 2005    
Adjunct Faculty, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA

1997 - 2004
Art Education Coordinator, The Violette de Mazia Trust, Wayne, PA

1994 - 1995
Drawing and Design Tutor, The Learning Center, Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, Philadelphia PA

1987 - 1997
Installation Committee, Moore College of Art and Design Galleries, Philadelphia, PA

1988 - 1992
Assistant to the Director of Education, Art Department, the Barnes Foundation, Merion Station, PA

1987 - 1988
Personal Secretary to Violette de Mazia, Director of Education, The Barnes Foundation, Station, PA

Exhibitions

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Solo

2022
Concepts and Compositions: Exploring the Yin and Yang in Art, Health and Life, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA

2010
Mixed Media Paintings, Pagus Gallery, Norristown, PA

2003
Temple Shalom, Broomall, PA

1995
Compositions, ABFAB Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

1988
Sharon Bloomfield Hicks: Recent Paintings and Banners, Third Street Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

1987
Sharon Bloomfield Hicks, Third Street Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

1982
Drawings and Paintings by Sharon Bloomfield Hicks, Quissett Bookstore Café, Haverford, PA

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Group

2024
Dispatches from Kindred Worlds, Da Vinci Art Alliance. Philadelphia, PA

Now One with Everyone, Ice Box Project Space, Philadelphia, PA

Converge, 9^th Benefit Exhibition, Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Flood Zone, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA

Members & Teaching Artist Exhibition, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA

InLiquid Benefit, In Liquid Gallery and Ice Box Project Space, Philadelphia, PA

That Figure in the Long off Fog, Culture Works, Philadelphia, PA (Curated by Sara Mae Henke)

2023
New Now VI, InLiquid Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

‍When the Light Comes In, Invitational Exhibition, DaVinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA‍

Radius / Soft Girl Era, Invitational Exhibition, The Delaware Contemporary, Wilmington, DE
Leslie Shaffer and Nataki Oliver, Curators

Taking a Line for a Walk, Park Towne Place, Philadelphia, PA
Mat Tomezsko, Curator

‍Expressions of Radnor, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA

2022
Expressions of Radnor, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA

Perennial Visions IV, Annual Member Show, DaVinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA

Family Room, Invitational Exhibition, DaVinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA

Summer Juried Show 2022, Abington Art Center, Abington, PA
Meg Wolensky, Juror and Director of Continuing Education at Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia, PA

Through the Grid, Invitational Exhibition, Da Vinci ArtAlliance, Philadelphia, PA

2021
Perennial Visions III, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA

Hope and Possibility, Invitational Auction, Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Created in COVID, 2020 Gallery, Lansdowne, PA
The Lansdowne Arts Board, Curator

Respite in Situ, Three-Person Exhibition, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Bodine Center for Radiation Therapy, Philadelphia, PA
Eric Preisendanz, Curator

2019
Portraits, Pagus Gallery, Norristown, PA

2005
Faculty Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA

Invitational Exhibition, Gallery Zone One, Philadelphia, PA

1998
‍Head, Pagus Gallery, Norristown, PA‍

Invitational Exhibition, Gallery Zone One, Philadelphia, PA

1997
‍Green, Pagus Gallery, Norristown, PA

1996
‍In Person: A Celebration of the Human Figure, Wallingford Art Center, Wallingford, PA
Fred Osborne, Juror

Barnes Watch Exhibition and Auction, Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia PA

1995
‍Art of the State: Pennsylvania ‘95, State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA
Zoltan Buki and Halide Salam, Jurors

1994
‍Staff Show, Moore College of Art and Design Galleries, Philadelphia, PA

Invitational Exhibition, Art Forms Gallery, Manayunk, PA

1993
‍Works by the Installation Committee, Moore College of Art and Design Galleries, Philadelphia, PA

Fabric Workshop: Fifteen Years of Apprentice Designs, Philadelphia Art Alliance (Featured at the entrance to the show)

1992
‍64^th Annual Juried Exhibition, Art Association of Harrisburg, Harrisburg, PA

Art at the Armory, 103rd Engineers Armory, Philadelphia, PA (Catalog)

1990  
‍Art at the Armory, 103rd Engineers Armory, Philadelphia, PA

Invited Artists Exhibit, Third Street Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

17^th Annual Invited Artists Show, Third Street Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

1989
‍Invitational Exhibition, Nexus Foundation for Today's Art, Philadelphia, PA

Invitational Exhibition, Third Street Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

1988
‍Invitational Exhibition, Third Street Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

25^th Annual Craft Exhibition, Main Line Center for the Arts, Haverford, PA Robert Kramer Memorial Award (First Prize)

1987
‍Size Isn’t Everything, Invitational Exhibition, Nexus Foundation for Today's Art, Philadelphia, PA

Summer View, Third Street Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Mix and Match, Pavilion Galleries, Mount Holly, NJ (Catalog)

Shades of Gray, Third Street Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Contemporary Women Artists of Philadelphia, Invitational Exhibition, Wallingford Community Arts Center, Wallingford, PA

Fifth Annual Juried Exhibition, Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY

Juried Exhibition, Visual Arts Center, Summit, NJ

National ’87 Small Works Exhibition, Schoharie County Arts Council, Cobleskill, NY

1986
‍Points of View II, Third Street Gallery, Philadelphia, PA‍

Points of View I, Third Street Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

1983
‍Energy Art, Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO
Omega Award (Purchase Prize)