Once A Sea (where stone turns water into clouds)

The exhibition ‘Once A Sea (where stone turns water into clouds)’ by artist Karen Miranda Abel is a conceptual garden composed of elemental sculptures brought to life with water gathered from waterfalls of the Niagara Escarpment biosphere.

Once part of a shallow tropical sea, the geomorphological formations of the Niagara Escarpment are remnants of an ancient seabed carved by glacial ice and riverine systems across waves of deep time, revealing the dolostone cliffs, crevice caves, rock pools, and exposed fossils of the present world. The escarpment continues to evolve through its interactions with water, perpetually channelling and transforming streams and rivers into rolling cascades and dynamic cloud-like mists that descend into curtain and ribbon waterfalls and swirling plunge pools.

Once A Sea centers on the intrinsic value and complexity of the natural phenomena of this geological landform. Hollow glass sculptures hold water gathered from eleven waterfalls along the escarpment’s watercourses, including the Pottawatomi River, Silver Creek, Ancaster Creek, and tributaries of the Beaver, Nottawasaga, and Grand rivers.

In resonance with the enduring and ephemeral characteristics of water, atmospheric sculptures in flameworked glass, paired with forms in stone and both sand-cast and forged bronze, generate spatial tones under a skylight. Tending to seasonal phases of dark and light, contemplation and transformation, the composition of works creates visual connections through reflection, evaporation, and condensation in a fluid engagement with space, signalling an elemental infinitude.

Presented at the Atelier of Akb Architects, 182D St. Helens Avenue, Toronto.

Opening Reception: January 30, 2026 | 6–9 pm

The artist acknowledges the support of Akb Architects, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Government of Ontario.