Meet the Artists: Anne Patterson & Patrick Harlin

June 2024—Dramatically lit sculptures, galactic paintings, and thousands of vibrant ribbons set against an orchestral composition escort you beyond Earth’s atmosphere in The Truth of the Night Sky: Anne Patterson and Patrick Harlin. Organized in collaboration with the Hermitage Artist Retreat, artist Anne Patterson and composer Patrick Harlin invite visitors to the Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design on an immersive journey of wonderment, possibility, and unity through space inspired by the iconic 1968 photograph of Earth taken from Apollo 8.

Patterson, a multimedia artist, is a synesthete who visualizes color and shape when she hears music. Harlin, a composer, combines classical, jazz, and electronic traditions to create music that displays his respect for the great outdoors. When the two met and began collaborating in 2014 while in residence at the Hermitage Artist Retreat on Manasota Key, Florida, they discovered a shared affinity for drawing their inspiration from nature.

Transcending the traditional boundaries of art, The Truth of the Night Sky invites visitors to embark on a multisensory journey through the interplay of music, light, and visual arts. Patterson’s Weeping Tree, a majestic piece of driftwood weeping gold leaves, anchors the gallery with approximately 30 paintings of iridescent gold from We Are All Stardust forming a horizon beneath the tree. Celestial Orbs, sculptures made of steel piano wire, resin, and gold leaf, gently revolve in the gallery, symbolizing constellations in the night sky. 

“Making these sculptures was pure joy for me. I manipulated and shaped the wire, actually dancing to the music and with my materials as my partner in rhythm to Patrick’s music,” Patterson said. 

As visitors explore her works, excerpts and elaborations from Harlin’s orchestral composition Earthrise engage the auditory senses. Harlin recorded Earthrise in 2024 in Poland with the Beethoven Academy Orchestra specifically for The Truth of the Night Sky. “This is truly a global project, meant to connect each other through art and music,” said Harlin. The music has its origins in 2021 when Harlin applied to be among eight artists who would join Space X’s inaugural tourist flight around the moon. He imagined the trip would prompt him to compose a new soundtrack for space travel. When he wasn’t chosen he turned his attention to the Apollo 8 photograph. With the revered image from space in mind, he composed Earthrise, which coincidentally competed on Earth Day. 

“There is a sense of awe in looking at the night sky, the vastness of the universe, and the improbability of reaching the moon, let alone our closest stars,” said Harlin. “To date, 24 humans have taken the 240,000-mile trip and experienced the excitement of skyward travel  accompanied by the violence of exiting Earth’s atmosphere and gravitational pull. I hope visitors to Sarasota Art Museum might vicariously experience the feeling that astronauts who have  taken the trip beyond the moon have.” 

On view from April 21–September 29, visitors can see Anne Patterson’s and Patrick Harlin’s exhibition in-person at The Truth of the Night Sky: Anne Patterson and Patrick Harlin at Sarasota Art Museum.