Eternal Medium: Seeing the World in Stone

Making sense of enigmatic visual phenomena such as the moon, clouds, and inkblots is a fundamental human ability that excites curiosity and inspires creativity. This type of looking has fascinated makers and viewers of art throughout time. Stone, especially vividly colored and richly patterned stone, is an impressive medium because the right stone can be difficult to source and carve. Eternal Medium: Seeing the World in Stone brings together diverse works that utilize the natural features of striking stones, and displays them alongside comparative examples in other media. The exhibition invites visitors to look for themselves as well as consider the works in their wider visual contexts. What individuals see in stone depends on their culture, unique experiences, and imagination. We can get closer to what people in the past saw by also looking at these ingenious creations alongside other examples of art from the same time and place.