Suiseki Landscape – “Badlands”

Description

Badlands is a bold and evocative suiseki by Italian artist Franco Mauri, created from palombino stone and mounted on a precisely carved Koto wood daiza. Named for its remarkable resemblance to the rugged canyons and eroded landscapes of the New Mexican badlands, this stone captures the stark beauty and geological drama of one of nature’s most iconic terrains.

The stone’s surface is rich in natural grooves, ridges, and carved valleys, shaped not by hand but by countless years of weathering and erosion. Its earthy color palette and textural detail call to mind the parched, stratified cliffs and sweeping mesas of the American Southwest—a place where rock and sky meet in quiet confrontation.

From every angle, Badlands suggests depth and distance, like a miniature panorama of canyonlands viewed from afar. Its form conveys both solidity and erosion, permanence and decay—the dual themes that define real desert landscapes. Despite its stillness, the stone feels in motion, shaped by invisible winds and ancient water, frozen in a moment of geological time.

The Koto wood daiza grounds the piece with understated elegance, lifting and framing it with warm contrast, while also allowing the natural architecture of the stone to fully emerge. Together, stone and base become a unified sculpture—a tribute to time, terrain, and timelessness.

Badlands invites the viewer into a space of wide horizons and ancient memory. It is a suiseki that reflects not only the outer landscape of the world, but also the inner landscapes of solitude, endurance, and quiet strength. A powerful piece for those who appreciate the untamed beauty of nature distilled into stone.