New Show at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery

I CHING or BOOK OF CHANGES
Symbolic Landscapes

Elizabeth Nelson, 22 “Grace” (Bi), oil on panel, 20 x 20 inches.

Artist, Elizabeth Nelson, has often been inspired and guided by the ancient Chinese divination text, I Ching or Yi Jing, one of the oldest of the Chinese Classics. It is studied as a book of wisdom throughout the world and provides guidance to religion, literature, art, psychology, science, diplomacy and business.  I Ching uses hexagrams to reach solutions. Nelson has painted 64 Symbolic Landscapes representing the I Ching texts that make up each hexagram. Twenty-seven of these are on exhibit at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery. 

Nelson will give a talk at the gallery on I Ching, the paintings and her book on June 12 at 4 p.m. A reception to meet Elizabeth Nelson will follow the talk.

Elizabeth Nelson, 38 “Diversity” (Kui), oil on panel, 20 x 20 inches.

I Ching is a big subject with a history of more than 3000 years of interpretation.  The texts and hexagrams have been used by many to find solutions to questions or problems. I Ching uses coins to determine these solutions.  A practitioner will toss three coins six times to create a new hexagram related to his or her question.  The response is determined by looking up the meanings of the hexagram in the I Ching text.  
 
Elizabeth Nelson has long been interested in Chinese painting. An early childhood memory reveals a fascination with scrolls her father brought back from Shanghai, India and Europe after his service in WWII.  Chinese and Asian art have remained a ‘foundation of her aesthetic.’
 
It was during a “fallow” period in her painting career that Nelson asked I Ching for “advice and inspiration.”  The answer was hexagram #2 Natural Response (K’un).  At first Nelson was puzzled by the response but the next morning as the moon was setting over her snow-filled pasture, the answer was clear.  She “would paint 64 hexagrams and choose the sequence at random by throwing the coins.” The entire symbolic landscape series took 6 years to complete. The oil paintings on cradled birch panels are 20 x 20 inches. 
 
I Ching is a fascinating subject especially for those interested in systems of divination and astrology.  There is much more to be studied and learned but for now join us for an enlightening talk.

Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery is located at 69 Maple Street in Center Sandwich.
The Gallery is open for the summer.  Gallery hours will be Tuesday – Saturday from 10 to 5.  Sunday 12 to 5 and Monday by appt.  www.patricialaddcaregagallery.com or 603 284 7728.