CITY COLLEGE–The Colin Chase Gallery buzzed with anticipation as students, professors, and community members gathered for The Stone’s Whisper, artist Lyn Ton’s MFA exhibition at The City College of New York. The artist dressed to the nines for the event, and stood by the door in a blazing white suit to welcome visitors. Soft ambient music drifted throughout the gallery and Ton beamed with pride over her work. “I feel satisfied with what I’ve done.” she said.
Ton uses stones as a metaphor. For her, stones represent resilience, strength, and stillness. The theme of stillness is presented through layered colors, and stone-like forms that seem to project a deliberate stillness, and ambient sound. Ton has been curious about stones since childhood. “I used to pick up small stones near the river and rub them together to see if they could create sparks,” she recalled. “And they actually did! Tiny sparks would flash out. That childhood curiosity about stones stayed with me.” Ton explained that the idea for The Stone’s Whisper didn’t come immediately, it returned to her again and again.“Over time I realized this was the language I wanted to work with.”
Ton invited viewers to look past what the eye first registers and find the subtler stories embedded in her work. She beamed while guests moved slowly from piece to piece. Some viewers stopped to talk and share thoughts about the work, others paused alone before the layered paintings. Ton hoped viewers would lean into the stillness her work invites. “I hope people sense that quiet things also carry stories,” she said, “Strength doesn’t always show loudly. Silence can hold deep meaning. I want people to slow down and really feel the stillness in the work.”
