A breathtaking art installation featuring thousands of shimmering copper foil casts is now on display at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. Japanese artist Yasuaki Onishi has created "Stone on Boundary," a large-scale installation that suspends 5,000 individual copper foil molds throughout an undulating framework that seems to make the pieces float in mid-air.
The unique installation represents a fascinating connection between two distant locations through a shared material and industry. Onishi began creating the copper foil molds in his studio in Osaka, a city where Japanese copper has been refined for export for approximately two centuries. He molded each piece over river rocks collected from both Osaka and Salt Lake City, creating thousands of individual casts that would eventually travel to their final destination in Utah.
The choice of location for the installation is particularly meaningful, as the Utah Museum of Fine Arts sits less than an hour's drive from the world's largest operational open-pit copper mine. By using copper as his primary material, Onishi creates a powerful connection between these two seemingly unrelated locations, linking them through their shared involvement in the copper industry and their relationship with this essential element.
Onishi has built his artistic career around exploring how objects interact with their surroundings, with a particular focus on the relationship between positive and negative space. This ongoing interest has led him to develop innovative molding techniques and discover unique applications for various materials, allowing him to delve deep into themes involving margins, voids, boundaries, and volume.
For the Salt Lake City installation, the artist specifically examines the complex relationship between earth, landscape, and extraction. According to the museum, "The copper foil created by Onishi presents such absence and presence through molding, suggesting that to recognize things, it is essential not only to know the surface but also to richly engage the imagination—and that even with imagination, one cannot see everything."
The physical structure of "Stone on Boundary" is as impressive as its conceptual framework. The thin metal molds create distinctive disc- and cup-like shapes that are carefully suspended along a wire framework designed to mirror the natural landscape surrounding Salt Lake City. The framework's undulating form reflects the majestic Wasatch and Oquirrh Mountains that define the region's topography, creating a visual dialogue between the artificial installation and the natural environment.
This installation represents a significant milestone in Onishi's artistic career, marking his largest work to date. The massive installation spans an impressive 12 x 22 x 14 meters, filling the gallery space with its presence and creating an immersive environment for visitors to experience. The scale allows viewers to walk through and around the suspended elements, experiencing the interplay of light and shadow as it filters through the thousands of copper pieces.
The artistic technique employed in creating the installation speaks to Onishi's mastery of materials and his ability to transform simple elements into complex artistic statements. Each copper foil mold captures the exact texture and form of the river rocks over which it was shaped, preserving the natural patterns and surfaces in metallic form while simultaneously creating an absence where the original stone once existed.
Visitors to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts can experience this remarkable installation and explore Onishi's artistic vision firsthand. Those interested in learning more about the artist's work and artistic philosophy can find additional information and images on Onishi's official website and Instagram account, where he regularly shares insights into his creative process and ongoing projects.
