Blaustein is organizing an international stone sculptors’ symposium to mark its 50th anniversary in September. The town of Blaustein near Ulm is organizing an international stone sculptors’ symposium to mark its 50th anniversary. Six well-known sculptors will produce sculptures from the limestone that dominates the region. It was already being used 6,000 years ago in the Stone Age village of Ehrenstein, which is now part of the city. The limestone and […]

Blaustein is organizing an international stone sculptors’ symposium to mark its 50th anniversary in September.

The town of Blaustein near Ulm is organizing an international stone sculptors’ symposium to mark its 50th anniversary. Six well-known sculptors will produce sculptures from the limestone that dominates the region. It was already being used 6,000 years ago in the Stone Age village of Ehrenstein, which is now part of the city. The limestone and cement industry shaped the region in the 19th and 20th centuries. The theme is “Togetherness” – because Blaustein was formed in 1968 from the merger of the two villages of Ehrenstein and Klingenstein.

Dietmar Rudolf is the artistic director. The stone sculptor is an instructor at the Münsterbauhütte Ulm. Over the two weeks, the public will be able to participate in the creative process at any time and talk to the sculptors. The sculptures will then be set up on a sculpture trail in the city center. To accompany the BlauStein symposium, the city is offering group tours and stone sculpting and photography workshops for children and adults.

The jury selected six participants and their project designs from 157 applications from 47 countries. They are:

– Xiao Jucheng from China, who studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Guangzhou. He teaches in the art department of Putian University and heads the Institute of Sculpture in Fujian Province.

– Mario Lopes from Portugal, a graduate of the “Academy of Fine Arts” in Carrara, Italy, and of the Master’s program in Sculpture at the Tama University of Art in Tokyo. In addition to sculptures, he also produces paintings, prints and works on paper and exhibits mainly in Japan and Portugal.

– Hugo Maciel from Portugal, a graduate of the Fine Arts Department of the University of Lisbon, where he also obtained his doctorate. He makes sculptures in stone, wood, steel and polymer and participates in many international symposia.

– Helga Palasser from Austria is a sculptor with a passion for casting techniques. In addition to stone sculptures and clay works, she also creates ice, straw and hay sculptures.

– Nikolay Yotov was born in Bulgaria and graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia. He works mainly with stone and wood and is a member of the Union of Bulgarian Artists.

– Zdravko Zdravkov from Bulgaria, also a graduate of the National Academy of Arts in Sofia and also a member of the Union of Bulgarian Artists. He is a widely traveled symposium artist with stations in Oman, Qatar, Taiwan, Iran, Kuwait, India, and Palestine, among others.

BlauStein Symposium
September 17 to 30, 2018, daily 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Gravel parking lot between Bad Blau and Theaterei tent
Free admission

Two countries connected by a streetcar: the new streetcar stop by J.MAYER.H.

Two countries connected by a streetcar. A streetcar runs from Kehl across the Rhine – all the way to Strasbourg. A direct connection to the European capital that crosses borders. The new terminus in Kehl by J.MAYER.H can be a little more unusual. The French counterpart by Zaha Hadid Architects was built in 2001 and is in no way inferior.

Public transport stops are part of the urban infrastructure that we city dwellers take for granted. They hardly get any attention. The new streetcar stop on Rathausplatz in Kehl by J.MAYER.H. is quite different. Light-colored exposed concrete panels define its striking structure, inspired by the Rhine pebbles typical of the area. The sculpture expresses dynamism and balance, instability and mobility. A certain symbolism? After all, the stop connects Kehl in Germany with Strasbourg in France along six kilometers of track. A connection that was hardly conceivable just a few years ago, but which even today has to be fought for time and again – in a positive sense. The streetcar stop on the other side can keep up with the design by J.MAYER.H. Zaha Hadid Architects designed the station in Strasbourg. Two unique terminal stops from the pens of major architectural firms – and border traffic commutes between them every day.

This article appeared in G+L 07/2019. Click here to go to the store.