Woah! Art on Stone!

Yesterday I went to the Stone Art Gallery in Park City, Utah. It was extremely unique. Most of the art in the gallery was made of various types of stone (granite, quartzite, slate). There were chairs and tables that had the appearance of wood, but were really made of rock. There were also many paintings that were painted on flat slabs of rock rather than canvas. There were paintings of wolves, horses, Native Americans, and even a really trippy image of a bunch of horses inside horses.

The whole exhibit had an extreme Southwest/ Santa Fe feel to it, which I felt like I could relate too, as I grew up in Albuquerque. I used to go to Santa Fe with my grandpa, and we would walk through the many art galleries. This gallery was a provided a nice chance to reminisce on those memories.  

While touring the gallery I found a really cool work of stone art. It was extremely abstract, and at first just looked like a regular slab of marble.

After looking for a few seconds however, I discovered that there was in fact a horse head in the marble. It was not engraved on the top of the rock, but literally appeared to be a naturally occurring pattern in the marble. When I stepped a few feet back, I saw another horse’s head appearing to the left. That’s when a voice behind me said, “There are at least 9 horses in that rock, and an infinite number of other animals, faces, and designs, the number of which is only limited by your imagination.” It was none other than Feliz Saez, owner of the gallery and artist of the “horse rock.” He explained to me that the rock was much like a formation of clouds in the sky; an empty canvas filled with hidden pictures that are created by the brain’s subconscious desire to find order and patterns in randomness. The first horse I saw was what he called “the window image” as it was purposely inserted into the marble to be indiscreet, catching the eye of the viewer. After finding one picture in the stone, our brain begins scanning for more, and from there, what each person sees is uniquely up to them. I found three horses, as well as several faces in the rock. It was fun because no one really sees the same thing. My dad was with me, and he saw totally different images in the rock. It was awesome.

I thoroughly enjoyed the gallery, as it was a medium (painting on stone) that I had never really seen before. I also enjoyed talking to Saez, as he gave me insight into the mind of the artist. When I asked him if it was hard for him to sell a work of art after putting so much of himself into it, he answered,” Well the way I see it is as a trade; I give up the thing I have worked hardest at (art) for the thing the buyer has worked hardest for (cash).” I liked the practicality of his thinking. After all, he has to make a living off of selling his art. Between the incredible exhibits and the conversation with Saez, the stone art gallery truly was a one-of-a-kind experience.