LET’S PLAY THE STONES Lucia Beijlsmit

Toquemos las piedras or in English Let’s Play the Stones—noting that the verb ‘tocar’ in Spanish encompasses the two meanings intended (to play a musical instrument and to touch any object)—represents the essence of what Dutch artist Lucia Beijlsmit wants to convey in this
exhibition: triggering aesthetic pleasure through the haptic exploration of her pieces and provoking surprise and fun by extracting sounds from something seemingly mute, such as a rock. On the one hand, the sense of touch involves volition and desire, thus enhancing closeness and intimacy with the artwork. At a time when artificial intelligence is replacing so many human tasks, tactile activity is something that AI cannot do for us: touch allows us a direct, immediate connection with art, without intermediaries.

This connection is forged from the moment of creation itself. The soul of Lucia’s artistic pieces lies not only in the final result of her sculptures, but also in the process of carving the stone. The aesthetic pleasure and great satisfaction for this artist goes beyond the conception of the work since it truly resides in the very same act of sculpting it: in the tangible contact with the rock; in the physical labor that using the radial, the chisel and the hammer requires; in pondering the weight of the sculpture and sensing its textures with her own hands. On the other hand, the artist gives us something unexpected: the music of rocks. Lucia, who curiously has a hearing impairment, offers us an acoustic experience generated by touch, highlighting how extraordinary it can be to enjoy a creation without relying on sight. In a society as ocularcentric as today’s, where visual culture is promoted in art and tactile culture is often prohibited (thus distancing us from the artistic object instead of bringing us closer), encouraging visitors to ignore what their eyes see in favor of what their fingers and ears sense and feel entails both an intellectual and emotional challenge. Finally, I invite you to touch these stones with your ears and, above all, with your hands. We are faced with an interactive artistic endeavor that matches perfectly well the spirit of the Museo Vostell Malpartida and the Fluxus group: art as action, art with a sense of humor, art to connect with the piece, to laugh, to feel, and also to think. In this exhibition, so aptly titled Let’s Play the Stones, touching the sculptures goes from being something forbidden and forgotten to something mandatory and fundamental to experiencing unique and transformative aesthetic experiences.

María José García Vizcaíno
Full Professor Department of Spanish and Latino Studies
Montclair State University

Lucia Beijlsmit, was born in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and has lived in various parts
of the world, including Latin America and Africa. She now resides in Salorino, a small village
in Extremadura, Spain. Her work is shaped by cultural diversity and a profound, respectful
connection to nature.

A self-taught artist, Lucia carves stone using the direct carving technique. She works with
marble, granite, sandstone, fossil-rich limestone and diabase, often materials she finds in
fields or in traditional quarries. Each stone type inspires her for its character, geological
origin (sedimentary, volcanic, or metamorphic), and texture. She gives new life to discarded
fragments through reuse and transformation.

Her inspiration comes from nature, design, jewelry, architecture, recycling, and contemporary
issues. She seeks balance, quietness, and tactile experience in her sculptures, creating
pieces that invite both visual contemplation and physical exploration. Lucia values the fact
that her art has inspired others—such as her friend Coen Verharen (artist name CoenSt)
whose infinite line drawings are directly inspired by her sculptures and which are to be seen
together with her actual exposition Let’s play the stones.

And last but not least her partner Jasper, who sculpted their garden around her sculptures.
Her work has been featured in the Contemporary Art Biennale of ONCE (Madrid, 2022),
a solo show at the Foundation ONCE (2023), the Tiflology Museum in Castelo de Vide
(Portugal, 2024), the BIALE in Estremoz (Portugal, 2025), and she is scheduled to
participate in an international group exhibition in Henry Moore Institute, Leeds (UK) in
Autumn 2025. Her work was also shown at the Royal Alcázars of Seville (2022).
www.luciabeijlsmit.com