Listening to the stones - Eons.

There are art exhibitions that surprise, others speak of history, many or most of them make us think, others we don't understand, but sometimes there are some that take us back in time to our origins, or rather to the origins of the earth itself.

The Ateneo has become one of my favourite galleries to discover new artists and see their works of art. Not all of them are to my liking, but many catch my attention because of their meaning, like this one I bring you today.

Every time I go to an art show I organise the photos in folders, I think I told you about that. Before the Christmas holidays I went to a lot of art exhibitions that were put away, and now little by little they will see the light of day.

My first impression when I saw the gallery room full of rocks was one of surprise. Was it just a simple rock show, I asked myself, and I was reminded of the community here in Hive in which I participate and paint rocks of goodness from time to time. These rocks were very different, but also the exhibition called for reflection and a very deep one.

The exhibition was called Eons and the artist's name is Ángeles Sioli. On entering the first thing I see is a large number of watercolours, which as a whole the work is called ‘Skins’, about twenty to be precise, done on heavyweight black paper, mounted on fluorescent green methacrylate, each measuring 30 x 42 cm. All made in the year 2025.

Each of these watercolours represents stones, of different colours, some with veins, others smoother, but when I looked at them closely, I thought I saw photographs. They were spread over a whole wall and some of the watercolours were very high up, so I took close up pictures of the lower ones so that you could see the detail of them. Each one was more beautiful than the next and the variety was impressive, as well as being very well painted.

On one side of the room there was a screen showing rocks, rock movements, solitary rocks, in other scenes two rocks and in others many of them.

At first I didn't quite understand what it was all about, but after reading the explanation on one of the walls it all made a lot of sense. The artist alludes to what the rocks say, to what they express, since they have been witnesses to the emergence of the planet, to its stages of evolution, to trials and errors, also to successes, and to everything that has to do with the biological development of the environment.

This proposal refers to the territory, the landscape in which we find ourselves, in which the human being finds himself, and the reflection leads us to the geological eras, life, to the temporary or ephemeral nature of things, to the constant changes of this life. It is also a call to awareness of these things, of these concepts.

The artist mentions that rocks have a lot to tell us about life, because they have always been among us in different physical forms and that we should listen to them. Of course this is metaphorical but every single thing on the planet speaks about it and if we would pay more attention to nature we would realise what really matters.

Further on was this work called ‘Greenheart Forest’, which is made of peridotite rock boulders, steel rods and concrete with natural pigments with sizes of 100 x 130 x 40 cm. Also a work from 2025.

Although in the photos you can't see it well, they have a green tonality that I loved and the way of exhibiting them as well, simulating trees with their very high tops as if they were competing with each other to reach the top. At least that's what I see. What do you see?

The next work is called ‘Homenaje al río Castor’ (Homage to the Beaver River), a sculptural wall piece, boulders intervened with steel, 160 x 140 x 15 cm.

‘Mineral Consciousness’, peridotite boulders, murano glass and wire measuring 20 x 50 x 100 cm. An interesting work where colour is given with glass.

This work is my favourite, both for the way it is made and for the colours, I think that's why I left it for the end. It is called ‘Alma de piedras’ (Soul of stones) and it is made of grisaille and fire enamel on glass of a size of 10 x 50 cm each.

I really like the shapes that appear, what can be seen, where although they represent rocks, I can see faces in the intersection between them. The colours the artist has used are amazing and the technique is something I have never seen in person before. I would really have this work on one of the walls of my house, it is beautiful.