Antoine AGUILAR (born 1979) Stone seed, (Coccolith, scyphosphaera apsteinii), 2025 Oil pastel on canvas Signed on the back 40 x 35 cm The first brick of life, invisible to the naked eye, the coccolith is a unicellular organism, a phytoplankton with the ability to fix calcite. The accumulation of their bodies on the ocean floor creates chalky sedimentary rock. With their ability to produce oxygen on a geological scale, their importance and impact on the environment are considerable. This painting paints a portrait, an interpretation, revealing its beauty while playing on the ambiguity of its floral form.