Northern Lights inspiration for Elmhurst College exhibit

An exhibit of Olivia Petrides' large-scale abstract drawings based on her direct observation of the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, opens Monday, March 7, at Elmhurst College.

With a background in scientific illustration, Petrides uses simple tools such as ink, gouache and paper; and the basic element of drawing, the line, to re-enact the forcefulness and sublime effect of the ever-shifting aurora.

Elmhurst College is hosting her "Polar Nights" exhibit as part of Women's History Month. The exhibit runs Tuesday, March 8, through Saturday, April 16, and can be viewed from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays in the Barbara A. Kieft Accelerator ArtSpace on campus, 190 Prospect Ave., Elmhurst.

A reception with the artist will be 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 15, in the Accelerator ArtSpace, with an artist's talk at 5 p.m. Both the exhibition and reception are free. For information, call (630) 617-5186.

Petrides received her master's degree in fine art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she is an adjunct associate professor in the Painting and Drawing Department and the Visual Communications Department.

She has had numerous exhibits in galleries and museums in Iceland, the Faeroe Islands, Scotland, Seattle, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Her works are included in the public collections of the Smithsonian Institution, the United States Park Service, the Field Museum and the Icelandís Hafnarborg Institute of Art, among others.