The relationship between art and spirituality drives the work of many artists. Not so common are the relationships that connect art with spirituality and superstition. In the exhibit, The Garden of Auspicious Rocks, Hilary Lorenz creates three-dimensional photographs of shapes and colors, dynamically suspended and seemingly living in the confines of glass flasks. Some of the spiritual rocks float upward while others appear to float unmoored within the viscous air.
The containers in which the colorful rock sculptures move and shimmer are tissue culture flasks used to grow cells in medical laboratories. Lorenz's artful rock gardens reflect her desire to "culture and grow [her] own creations."
Hilary Lorenz first became interested in exploring spirituality and superstition and their manifestation in shapes and colors while a Fulbright Scholar in Taiwan in 2001. The exhibit reflects the dynamic interplay among lucky shapes and colors or feng-shui, Eastern fortune telling-but all within the suggestion of scientific principle.
The rocks in the show are divided to reflect the feng-shui colors of the elements. Each flask is photographed in its own feng-shui element, and the photographs are designed to bring the element into the environment where the picture is hung. Lorenz provides instructions with each photo.
Lorenz's earlier art, influenced by her position as an assistant in a DNA lab, reflects an interest in the intersections between the shapes and colors of biological science. Although The Garden of Auspicious Rocks is a clear departure from these earlier images, the scientific underpinnings of life, and therefore art, are reflected in the newest creations.
Related Links:
