An exhibition of new works by Lisa DeLong opens February 3, 2023 in Provo, Utah. In approximately one dozen, 20 x 30” works, the artist limns complex relationships between geometric shapes that carry weighty interpretations. The paintings are made on handmade blue paper with extremely fine lines exquisitely drawn with opaque white ink made from stones and earth gathered by the artist in her trips around the world. In these works, for the first time, DeLong is experimenting with copper leaf and collaged elements, as well.

She write to us, "At its most fundamental level, the forms that I work with are the circle and the square, symbols of Heaven and Earth. Every pattern I explore is essentially a conversation between straight and curved lines drawn with compass and square. Embedded in the process itself is an attempt to negotiate the relationship between these realms.” As any viewer of the works immediately recognizes, this is a slow creative process, and the artist notes that in extended contemplation, she finds unexpected insights into the randomness of nature and in new interpretations of even the most familiar geometric patterns. She adds, “In this show, many of the designs I am working with are based on the number 12. This number is connected with cosmological governance, of course being linked to how we measure time in the hours of the day, the months of the year, the signs of the zodiac, the number of the apostles, and so forth. For example, one of the paintings working with this number and its symbolic qualities shows a mountain built of a square tessellation of a 12-fold pattern. It sits in contact with a large circular form that expresses an entirely different 12-fold design. The geometric laws they follow are the same; they occupy completely different spaces – and yet they are in communication at this single point. I find that the more that I sit quietly with simple forms, the more they unfold meanings to me. I always delight to hear what meanings they suggest to the people who come to see them, too.”

DeLong is the child of two mathematicians, but it was only in college at BYU, studying with Wulf Barsch, that her interest sparked in geometry. This led her to books and experts, including Hugh Nibley, who shared with her information on sacred geometry. Later, she landed at the Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts in London, where the study of geometry, including Islamic geometric design, is part of the curriculum. 21 years, multiple books, internal classes and travel, and notable exhibitions later, DeLong has just moved back to the States from London. Looking forward to talking with audiences, she writes, "I love the creative alchemy that emerges from sharing a body of work in a public setting. I always have so many fascinating conversations with people who come to see it. Sometimes a visitor will pull me aside to share a sacred moment and personal connection that they had with a specific painting. Sometimes they are simply delighted at the mathematics at play. It is a great privilege to hear these insights, and the engagement with people who come to see my work always leaves me filled with a creative fire for the next batch of work.” — Glen Nelson (Celestial Navigation opens February 3rd and runs through the 25th at Writ & Vision in Provo, Utah.)