„Arena Stone“ – A forum for talks on design, architecture and mosaics in natural stone
The „Stone“ Trade Fair, held in the industrial city of Poznan, Poland, has established a position as a dependable contender. The latest fair took place from November 14th to 17th, 2018 with 220 exhibitors – 10% more than in the previous year. Some 5000 visitors attended, up just slightly from last year’s showing.
„Arena Stone“, the forum for talks by international experts was a new addition:
* Italian industrial designer Raffaello Galiotto spoke on avoiding waste in natural stone production. We will be presenting his ideas in more detail in an upcoming edition. Galiotto is the initiator of the Italian Stone Theater at Verona’s Marmomac;
* Lubosz Karwat, Polish mosaic-artist of international renown, showed examples of his work in natural stone;
* Giulio Menossi, Italian mosaic-artist, showed a sample of his works in glass;
* Peter Becker of Stone-Ideas.com spoke on implementation of natural stone in architecture; buzzwords are pre-stressed construction and stereotomy.
The talks were simultaneously translated into English and Polish.
Poznan’s „Stone” enjoys a distinguishing factor: glass and stone and all about craftsmanship is the theme of the Fair. The reason behind this savvy combination is that both branches often use the same machinery in working the material. The Fair was held back to back with Memento, the Fair dealing with funeral culture.
The Fair program included distribution of the producer gold medals. They went to:
* ATM Solutions, Poland for the ATMS laser plotter CO2 PRO710;
* Donatoni, Italy, for its 5 interpolated axis simple and compact bridge-cutter JET 625 CNC (submitted by Polish Mekanika Company);
* Omax, USA, for its Waterjet protoMAX (submitted by Polish Jet System);
* Adjatec, for Cemetery accessories in stainless steel.
The Acanthus Aureus Prize for best show stand went to:
* JetSystem, Syntetyk, Małgorzata Nowicka, Zdzisław Nowicki, Granumlus Lda, H.M Tran Granit Hanna Mickiewicz, Interstone, Hallindens Granit and Tiera Stones.
Students of the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts, Krakow, showed sculptures by students. The Academy boasts a sculpting faculty – Stone Studio. The school has become known for its yearly sculpting symposia „Continuum“. We show some of the works presented.
The second day of the Fair included a podium discussion between Polish and foreign architects as part of the „Arena Stone“. Some of the most important new building complexes in Polen were presented. The third day was dedicated to glass in architecture and interior design.
Stone, Poznan 2019 (20th – 23rd November)
(06.02.2019, USA: 02.06.2019)