LANCASTER –  Carol Galligan of Lancaster brings her visual interpretations of Tsaoist philosophies in the next art show, “Mountains and Waterways,” Aug. 15-Sept. 30, at the Lancaster Campus of HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College.

A reception for the artist is scheduled for 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, in the Art Space, in the East Building of the campus, 1641 Old Philadelphia Pike.

Central to her work is the Tao – the philosophy that there is an unknowable source and guiding principle of reality and the process of nature which is to be followed for a life of harmony.

“’The Tao Te Ching’ by Lao-tzu, a Taoist sage, explains the meaning of the ‘way’ and ‘virtue,’” said Galligan. “Chinese poets have always known that which is of greatest importance often lies far beyond words.”

Galligan said her work reflects the influence of another book, “Daughters of Emptiness, poems by Chinese Buddhist Nuns.”

In traditional China, the mountains were revered as the home of spirits and immortals and became the site of Taoist and Buddhist monasteries. The residents write of the Great Void which melts to form rivers and waterways and thickens to form mountains and hills. Vapor becomes mists and clouds and the visible “Chi” or “breath” of nature.

Galligan is an adjunct instructor at HACC, Franklin and Marshall College, Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Vermont College in Montpelier and the Lancaster Museum of Art. Her work has been shown in exhibitions at colleges, universities, museums, and commercial galleries in New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois. Most recently Galligan received the 2011 Rottler Award for Excellence in Visual Arts from the York Art Association. She is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology with a master’s degree in studio art.

Hours for the Art Space are 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday. For more information contact Cindy Rose, humanities assistant professor at the HACC-Lancaster Campus, 717-358-2841 or e-mail at cwrose@hacc.edu.