Vija Celmins: "To Fix the Image in Memory," 1977-82

The stones that make me most acutely aware of the stoneness of stones are not stones at all. Between 1977 and 1982, Vija Celmins made bronze casts of eleven stones she collected in northern New Mexico, painstakingly painting them to resemble the originals. These made stones are presented alongside the originals. She has said that, “Part of the experience of exhibiting them together with the real stones was to create a challenge for your eyes. I wanted your eyes to open wider." In a photo, it me...