Hartea: the marble tableware that has conquered chefs Andoni Luis Aduriz and Hélène Darroze
Hartea: the marble tableware that has conquered chefs Andoni Luis Aduriz and Hélène Darroze
Joseba Lekuona Yaben –someone who has a passion for stone and has been working as a stonemason and artist for more than three decades, manufacturing pieces that harmoniously combine proportions, lines, colors, and sounds– uses his brand Hartea to sell sculptural tableware in marble, sandstone, limestone, volcanic stone, and basalt; products that represent a turning point in the way fine dining is conceived.
His tableware can be placed into one of three different categories: Design, cylinders with a perfect polished finish; Organic, harmoniously configured by combining the polished interior with a textured exterior; and Sculpture, which explores the limits of stone with anthropomorphic silhouettes. Each of these pieces of tableware comes from a single block of stone and proposes a unique culinary interplay in which diners interpret the pieces in accordance with their intention, giving rise to an important moment. This brings about a dialog between the diners and the art itself, between the art and the food, between the masterpiece and the emotions; a type of “game” which varies as much as the intentions of each individual involved therein. These luxury dishes encourage diners to interact with the materials in a poetic and playful sense, allowing them to enjoy an exceptional gastronomic experience.
Lekuona usually uses the term “eurhythmy” to refer to his tableware. Clearly, his way of approaching stonework –coxing the best out of the material and lifting it up– is not far from the notions conceived by Vitruvius (who demanded order, arrangement, eurythmy, symmetry, propriety, and economy in each monument he came up with) nor is it far from those used by Rudolf Steiner in his anthroposophy movement. In his book “Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts,” published in 1924, Steiner explained that “only they can be anthroposophists who feel certain questions on the nature of man and the universe as an elemental need of life, just as one feels hunger and thirst.”
Renowned chefs like Andoni Luis Aduriz and Hélène Darroze have introduced eurythmy in their restaurants. The tableware is also present in homes around the world that know how to appreciate the value of these signature pieces. Hartea sells its eurythmy at two exclusive places in San Sebastián: the Lukas shop at the María Cristina Hotel and the boutique Veluto. Those interested in learning about the way these fine pieces of tableware are created can also visit (by appointment only) Lekuona’s workshop in Urnieta, just a few minutes away from San Sebastián. Its exhibition area, where the artist presents his latest creations, and especially the atelier, in which this lithic master turns nature into art, are well worth a visit.
Hartea
Tel.: +34 628 552 300
