Abstract/Arabesque/Analog: Finding and Expressing Structure in the Work of Eliza Au. (Reception)

Thursday, Sep. 7, 5 - 7 p.m., NAU Art Museum.

Free and open to the public.

For parking information visit: https://nau.edu/Parking-Shuttle-Services/Guest-Parking/

Au relates that her personality is about order and structure and the works in this exhibition - evocative of structures as disparate as honeycombs and Gothic cathedral windows - reflect this. Her pieces express an almost universal impulse - found in vastly different societies around the world - to find in patterns a reflection of the spiritual or divine.

Au further defines the structural exploration of her work: "The liminal space between complexity and order allows room for play and discovery through the rules of algorithms and parametric design. My work investigates how past and present ornament in architecture engages in the idea of sacred space. Ornament and abstraction have a close relationship, ornament acting as visual stimuli and also as a vehicle for social norms and ideals. Historically, architectural ornament within the divinity. My work provides an outlet for my need to discover and participate in the meditative act of making without a direct connection to religious belief. Our epoch is the same as all other epochs before us, using current technology to re-interpret ornament that come before us and modify their meanings to fit our own purpose."