(June 2009) Visitors to the natural stone installation in Madrid presented last year were delighted: Artist Evaristo Bellotti had used large dimension white Macael-marble tiles as flooring in his glass palace like those normally used in greenhouses. By surface ablation corrie-basin-like indentations gave the tiles a unique appearance. When hosed down, small puddles formed in the troughs.
Visitors were encouraged to role up their pant cuffs, and saunter barefoot through the puddles, which they did with great enthusiasm. Not only were the children filled with glee to splash about in the water. The older generations also enjoyed walking on the noble wet surface.
The exhibit took place from September to December 2008 in Madrid’s Crystal Palace. The marble tiles were 100 cm x 33 cm x 3 cm in dimension. It took 1668 of these tiles, which were hand finished in quarries around the Almeria region. The material was furnished by the Fundación Marca Macael, the marketing organization for Spanish marble. An interpretation of the artwork can be found in vol 37 of the trade publication Piedra Natural published by the Spanish Natural Stone Trade Organization FDP (Spanish, pdf).
Photos: FDP