Gni-ri feb, Story of the Stone

Gni-ri feb2025, Story of the Stone
Nick Ervinck

February 22 — April 27, 2025
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(EN) Rock Mutation: Shaping Nature, Echoing Tradition, Embracing the Void.
Nick Ervinck’s (°1981) work is deeply rooted in nature, where stone serves not only as inspiration but as a canvas for transformation. His Rock Mutation series explores the tension between control and chaos, between the raw power of natural formations and the artist’s will to reshape them. Though his sculptures echo the rugged contours of boulders and pebbles, they are not mere imitations. Instead, they evolve into fluid, otherworldly forms—somewhere between solid rock and liquid motion—blurring the boundary between the organic and the artificial.

This fascination with primal forms connects to an ancient artistic lineage. Ervinck draws inspiration from Chinese Gongshi rocks, or “scholars’ stones”—naturally eroded limestone formations revered for their unpredictable, almost dreamlike shapes. In Chinese tradition, these stones were believed to hold spirits, embodying landscapes from unseen worlds. They are neither lifeless nor still; they pulse with energy, inviting contemplation. Ervinck channels this same vitality into his sculptures, reimagining the language of stone in a contemporary light.

Alongside these historical echoes, Ervinck is drawn to the idea of negative space—the voids within a sculpture that shape meaning as mu