Alicia Dwyer studied art in NYC at Parsons School of Design and the School of Visual Arts, where she received her BFA in drawing and painting. When she moved to Boston, Alicia studied sculpture at the Museum School of Fine Arts and Mass Art. She has taught art at the Museum of Fine Arts, DeCordova Museum, and St. Francis House's art therapy program as well as in public schools and to homeless children. Her work has been exhibited in galleries in the Boston area. She has also created murals for Border's Books, led a mural project with homeless artists in Boston, and completed an underwater seascape mural with fifth graders here in town at the Hildreth Elementary School. Participating annually in the sculpture walk in Harvard at Old Frog Pond, she has installed metal paintings on tree trunks in the forest, floating in a pond, and her painted windows have been installed in fields.

The subject of her recent work is the dress. This theme has been explored in cut and embossed painted metal. Additionally, Alicia is intrigued by pyrography (writing with fire); the art of burning wood, paper, or leather using a heated tool. Using a wood burning tool to burn the paper, she draws the image, varying the pressure to achieve a range of sepia tones. These small works are the early stages of her investigation of issues regarding gender and society.

Previously, Alicia painted on glass and metal. Her focus was depicting fragments of the body, particularly detailing the eyes, which evoke a range of emotions. It is her attempt to raise questions about being human, a sense of place, and the fragility of life and to invite the viewer to question their own response to such issues. Metal, wood and found windows are her canvas. These materials inherently reflect light, movement, and the viewer. Some of these pieces were on display in For Art's Sake's first exhibition 'Made in Harvard' at the Old Library.

For more information about Alicia's work, send email to alidwyer@aol.com.