Aslı Çavuşoğlu, The Place of Stone

In her lobby installation for the New Mu, Turkish artist Aslı Çavuşoğlu explores the centuries-long trade in lapis lazuli, once a key ingredient for mixing blue pigment before the advent of chemical dyes. The stone was extensively used for fresco painting, a medium revived here in a multi-panel composition, limned in hues ranging from cerulean to Prussian blue. Examining the color as both a commodity and as a key ingredient in painting, Çavuşoğlu traces the story of blue from its mineral origins to its role in art history.