From Monday, April 22, 2024, artist Sebastian Stoll will be exhibiting his stone art in the foyer of the Idar-Oberstein town hall. Entitled "Lithoviso - The Soul of Stones", this exhibition includes works created from the artistic transformation of self-discovered gemstones from the Hunsrück and Rheinessen regions. The pictures make the fascinating and mysterious microcosms of agate, rock crystal and jasper visible and reveal the innermost essence of the stones, their soul as it were.
Sebastian Stoll comes from Idar-Oberstein, studied philology in Mainz, Dijon and Toronto and lives in Mainz. His stone art combines nature and a connection to the earth with the digital possibilities of new media. Since his childhood, the artist has been searching for stones, fossils and archaeological artifacts together with his father. He is particularly fond of gemstones of volcanic origin, such as agate, rock crystal and jasper, which he found himself in Hunsrück and Rheinhessen. They manifest the creative elemental forces and physical laws of the cosmos that created them in the volcanic rock over 290 million years ago. Sebastian Stoll digitally captures the unique microcosms he finds inside his gemstones down to the smallest detail. In his artistic play with symmetry, colors and shapes, he then carefully transforms them into images that show the innermost essence of the stones - their soul, so to speak. His works, with their wealth of forms, symbols and figures, are reminiscent of the art of archaic and ancient cultures and the mythology of the collective unconscious.
The Lithoviso pictures invite the viewer on a journey of discovery into the fascinating inner worlds of stones - whose intricate beauty remains hidden to the eye in everyday life.
After many years of experimentation, Sebastian Stoll has been showing his work in public since 2020. Major exhibitions He also makes the strange beauty of the stone interiors visible through acrylic steles, textiles and light installations.
Südwestfunk broadcast a film clip on Lithoviso stone art back in 2022 - the video and lots more information can be found at www.lithoviso.com.
- The exhibition runs until Thursday, August 1, 2024 and can be seen in the foyer of the city administration from Monday to Wednesday from 7 am to 5 pm, on Thursdays from 7 am to 6 pm and on Fridays from 7 am to 12 pm.