Designed by Raffaello Galiotto of Lithos Design, the Stone Gate sculpture is a large natural stone ring that redesigns the panorama in front of the Verona Arena, becoming an irresistible public attraction. The stone ring weighs 27,300 kg, 3.80 metres high and 1.20 metres deep. Twenty modular stone slabs laid dry, joined to form a self-supporting structure, ensured by the compression of the steel rings embedded in the structure.
The stone ring by blends in with silent respect before the magnificence of the Arena, immediately becoming a venue for to get-together, play, laugh and take a break for thousands of tourists and passers-by who have instinctively “adopted” it.
Works within a work, or perhaps the continuous metamorphosis of the work, thanks to the public’s interaction as they enjoy it each one in his or her own individual way, interpreting it as if it were the stage of an open-air theatre with stars who improvise and change the panorama each time, interacting and merging with the stone work itself.
In a never-ending sequence of new faces and different gestures, people pass through and beyond Stone Gate, each one experimenting with poses and shapes, some opening their arms out to simulate Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, others shouting to hear their voice amplified inside the ring. The keenest visitors lie down for a nap.
The charm of the wheel, the ancestral calling of the stone: the power of an artwork that can truly be enjoyed as well as admired. The Stone Gate will be on display for a period of four weeks from 25th September – 29th October 2013.
