Amor Infiniti by Elizabeth Gower

AC[Institute Direct Chapel]
547 W. 27th St., 5th Floor
NY 10001


Reception 6- 8 pm January 22, 2009
January 22-February 14, 2009

AC [Direct] II presents Amor Infiniti (love of the infinite), an on¬going project of cutout paper plates by Australian artist Elizabeth Gower. Each “design” is unique, utilizing the six-point symmetry of the snowflake and the infinite variations possible within that geometric system.
Gower’s work has consistently involved the collection and collation of materials, images and data into systems of order. This collec¬tion, begun during the winter of 1997 in London, was the result of two incongruous stimuli. The first was the observation of stenciled snowflakes on storefront windows (the integration of aspects from consumer culture can be found throughout Gower’s work). And the second was the influence of “A Sense of Order” by E.H. Gombrich, which revealed the fact that after photographing 3000 snowflakes, none were found to be identical.

Gower began exploring the possibilities of a relatively simple system which would result in an infinite number of variations. Using equally elementary means, a compass, ruler, pencil and retractable blade, six-point symmetrical designs were cut into the flat circular base of paper plates. The ready-made disposable paper plate is an extension of her practice of incorporating discarded materials retrieved from the ur¬ban environment.

To date Gower has amassed approximately two thousand variations of cutout geometric designs and patterns. None are repeated, which demonstrates Pythagoras’ dictum “limit gives form to the limitless.” Like all collections, this one (and consequently this project) will never be complete.
Elizabeth Gower lives and works in Melbourne, Australia where she is currently completing a PhD from Monash University (Melbourne). Gower has exhibited in numerous solo exhibitions and participated in many major group exhibitions in Europe, U.K, United Arab Emir¬ates and throughout Australia including Museum of Contemporary Art (Sydney), Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (Melbourne), Centro per le Arti Visive (Venice), Auronzo di Cadore (Treviso), Institute of Modern Art (Brisbane), Museum of Modern Art at Heide (Melbourne), National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne), Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney), Sharjah University (UAE), Gramercy Art Fair (New York) and International Contemporary Art Fair: ARCO (Madrid). Her work has been chosen for public commis¬sions for The Super Dome Olympics (Sydney), City of Port Phillip, Southbank and World Congress Centre (Melbourne) and Victorian Ministry for the Arts.

Gower has received grants and awards from Cité Internationale des Arts (Paris), Arts Victoria (Melbourne), Alliance Française Art Fellowship, Georges Art Prize as well as multiple grants for residen¬cies abroad from The Australia Council. She is currently Artist-in-residence in New York. Her work is held in collections within Europe,Australia and the United Arab Emirates such as The Australian National Gallery (Canberra), National Gallery of Victoria (Mel¬bourne), Parliament House Collection (Canberra), Queensland Uni¬versity of Technology and The University of Tasmania (Hobart).

AC is a non-profit 501©3
Holly Crawford, Director & Curator
Christine Licata, Gallery Manager
Sonya Hofer, AC Fellow

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