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 sculptures brought to life with water collected from waterfalls of the Niagara Escarpment biosphere. In resonance with the enduring and ephemeral characteristics of water, the exhibition considers the elements of earth and sky in relation to the duality of timelessness and fragility, suggesting a landscape of physical and psychological geographies.

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 layers of deep time, revealing the dolostone cliffs, crevice caves, rock pools, and exposed fossils of the present world. The escarpment continues to evolve through the influences of water while at the same time channelling and transforming streams into rolling cascades and dynamic mists that descend into curtain and ribbon waterfalls and swirling plunge pools.

Guided by minimalist elemental form, the exhibition centers on the intrinsic value and complexity of the natural phenomena of the Niagara Escarpment. Atmospheric water sculptures in glass paired with stone and sand-cast bronze forms generate spatial tones under a skylight, signaling a correspondence between the visible and invisible—even when water appears still, water molecules are constantly in motion. Tending to seasonal phases of dark and light and contemplation and transformation, the composition of works creates visual connections with water via reflection, evaporation, and condensation in fluid engagement with space, transmitting an elemental infinitude.

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

Opening Reception: January 29, 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.