Creativity and manual skill of more than 60 designers, technicians and artisans are the heart of Progetto Arte Poli, an art workshop where the tradition of ancient techniques still live renewed by the design of the contemporary art.
The studio was founded by the artist Albano Poli in 1953, firstly just as a place to produce glass windows and later added mosaics, frescoes...
Nowadays we are a well-known company at international level in the art, design and architecture sectors where our masterpieces distinguish themselves for uniqueness, beauty and for their strong artisan feature.
It has been of great importance as well the activity of designing and making lamps carried out by Albano Poli in the 60s and 70s. Lamps made by hand combining glass, which is transparent and fragile, and materials such as iron, aluminium and even cast iron, creating then objects able to catch and spread light in different ways. Nowadays these lamps, known with the brand POLI ARTE, are sought-after collector’s items.
The continuous research of the artist and his staff of the way to better express their creativity has led to include the production of mosaics, frescoes, sculptures, wrought iron art works and other artistic works, complementing the glass process. Progetto Arte Poli can then be defined as a workshop inspired by the ancient tradition of the Italian Renaissance where the artist skillfully moves between the different expressions of art, designing and creating works that retain, in all its details, the preciousness and precision of ancient techniques, bringing with him the breath of an invention that is characterized by typical contemporary methods of modern abstraction.
Albano Poli founded Progetto Arte Poli after finishing the Art School in Verona. He started making stained glass windows in a small workshop inside a prestigious historical palace in downtown Verona. The business developed quickly thanks to his talent and he integrated the production of stained glass windows with mosaics, frescoes, sculptures, wrought iron works and other materials that are part of the Italian art tradition.
Passion, experience, traditional techniques, high quality materials: this is what characterizes all artworks made in the workshop and generally speaking, this is our Italian heritage.
During his career Albano Poli has cooperated with the major Superintendence organizations, carrying out numerous interventions in historical-cultural buildings, providing many types of services and receiving numerous awards:
- in 1968 he was awarded by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Crafts for the works provided at the Decorative Art Division of the 34th International Art Biennale of Venice.
- in 1970 he received the first prize for progress in the competition “Tradition, adaptation and progress of handicraft products”, organized by the Provincial Association of Artisans of Verona.
- in 1970 he received a gold medal by the German Prime Minister as an acknowledgement for the stained glass windows that he created for the International Exhibition of Crafts in Munich.
- in 2005 he received an acknowledgement for the stained glass windows that he created on the occasion of the 22nd International Exhibition of Nativity Scenes at the Arena of Verona.
- in 2009 he was appointed Cavaliere nell’Ordine Equestre Pontificio di San Gregorio Magno (Knight of the Papal Equestrian Order of Saint Gregory the Great) on behalf of Cardinal Bertone, by Cardinal Andrea di Montezemolo, for the implementation of the works of the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls in Rome.
- in 2011 he received two Faith&Form Awards: the first one in the “Design for Liturgy” category for the works implemented at the Church of Jesus, the Divine Master, in Rome and the second one in the “Liturgical Art” category for the stained glass windows created in the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls in Rome.
Faith&Form Award is an international award for art and architecture design. It is organized on a yearly basis and co-organized by the four-monthly magazine “Faith&Form” and by the department of “renovation and building of places of worship” of AIA (American Institute of Architects) IFRAA (Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture).
- in 2014 he received the Faith&Form Award in the “Liturgical Art” category for the Paschal Candleholder made in the Cathedral of Bari.
The winning entries will be published in the Winter 2014 Awards Issue of Faith&Form magazine and an exhibition of award-winning projects will be displayed at the 2015 National Convention of the American Institute of Architects in Atlanta, Georgia, in June 2015.
- in 2015, he received the “Excellence Award” at the Galà of the Italian business community “Un’Impresa ad Arte” held in Perugia.