Variations on Symmetry
Eliza Au, Ying-Yueh Chuang – 2012
The two artists show a personal translation of symmetry through their work in contemporary ceramics. Their work reflects a hybrid of Western and Eastern cultures, values and beliefs and examines symmetrical patterns and forms and their connection to the spiritual and natural world.
In the Main Gallery, Modern Fuel presents Variations on Symmetry, an exhibition of works by the artists Eliza Au (Richmond, BC) and Ying-Yueh Chuang (Toronto, On). The two artists show a personal translation of symmetry through their work in contemporary ceramics.
Their work reflects a hybrid of Western and Eastern cultures, values and beliefs and examines symmetrical patterns and forms and their connection to the spiritual and natural world. Au’s main influences are Islamic and Gothic patterns while Chuang is led by her influences to create work based on a fusion of plants or sea anemones. The two bodies of work exist on different points of the spectrum between the man-made (architecture) and the natural (botanical). These two ideas present themselves within the language of symmetry. Au and Chuang play with the idea of symmetry as an idea that is constantly in flux, which does not reference culturally specific symbols or practices.
About the Artists
Eliza Au, Ying-Yueh Chuang
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Eliza Au is originally from Vancouver, B.C. in Canada. She received her BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and her MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Artist residencies she has attended include Greenwich House Pottery (NYC, NY), The Museum of Contemporary Craft (Portland, OR), and the Corning Museum of Glass (Corning, NY). She has taught in Canada, United States and internationally at various institutions including the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, the Alberta College of Art and Design, Monmouth College, The University of Iowa and the Alfred-CAFA (Central Academy of Fine Arts) Program in Beijing, China. Au is currently an Assistant Professor of Ceramics at the University of North Texas.
Ying-Yueh Chuang was born in Taiwan and came to Canada in the early 1990’s. She received a diploma of Fine Arts from Langara College, Vancouver, a BFA from Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Vancouver, and a Masters degree in Ceramics from NSCAD University, Halifax. She has exhibited locally, nationally and internationally in both juried and invitational exhibitions and has been the recipient of many grants and awards. She was the 2006 recipient of the Winifred Shantz National Emerging Artist Award for Ceramists, Canada.