Page 7 - BSAM 2018 Q2

“More and more people throughout the world have gained an appreciation of the art of bonsai and suiseki. They are moved by its artistic and moral sense. As a result its intrinsic value has increased and made it an acceptable form of art to those who want to promote world peace.
In this instance, Bonsai Association Belgium (BAB) should take pride in the contribution they make to the art of bonsai and to the world by
Sorganizing every year the Noelanders Trophy.”
o begins the introductory letter by Marc Noelanders leading up to the 19th Noelanders Trophy held for the 3rd time in a row, in Genk, in the northeastern Belgian province of Limburg this past February. This would be the last time
Noelanders’ name would be associated with this event. Marc Noelanders recently stepped down as president of the Bonsai Association Belgium to assume the role of president of the European Bonsai Association, so next year, on the twentieth anniversary of this influential bonsai exhibit, BAB will retire the current name and launch a new one.
For this year, the 19th Noelanders Trophy lived up to its reputation for attracting the best in bonsai and suiseki. The Limburghal in Genk opened its doors to a record number of bonsai enthusiasts and professionals from all over the world.
The large area featuring more than 90 international traders offered bonsai professionals and amateurs a wide range of all bonsai related articles. It was a real bonsai super market.
Over 4,000 visitors–a never before seen number–came to enjoy the beauty of 115 high quality bonsai from 14 different countries of Europe. Ms. Gudrun Benz was in charge of the suiseki exhibition and selected about 30 beautiful suiseki. Mr. Kunio Kobayashi brought one his excellent suiseki to the show.
There is always excitement and anticipation about the new offering of trees at each edition of the Trophy. As a condition of the selection process, a bonsai can only be entered in the competition once every three years. This ensures that BAB can offer a completely new exhibition with different bonsai on display every year.
Throughout the exhibition, on both Saturday and Sunday, four masters gave simultaneous demonstrations: Kunio Kobayashi from Japan; Bjorn Bjorholm from the USA; Milan Karpisek from the Czech Republic; and Giacomo Pappalardo from Italy. The auditorium with a capacity of 650 seats was too small to fit all the visitors that wanted to attend the demonstrations.
Facing page, background; View of main exhibit space.
Inset; Best Bonsai of the Show, category Conifers: Picea abies, by Donato
Danisi. This tree is on the cover of this issue.
Bottom; BCI Award of Excellence for Suiseki: Enzo Ferrari: a river stone from
Liguria, Dove si specchiano le stelle. (Where the stars are mirrored).
This page, top; Best Bonsai of a Member of BAB: Olea europaea, by Christian
Vos
This page, bottom; Sonderpreis Bonsai Art: Hornbeam Forest (Yose-ue) Carpinus betulus by Jürg Stähel from a yamadori collected in 1986. The other trees are cuttings and air layering from the “mother tree”
April/May/June 2018 | BCI | 5