Hasta La Ideas

Blown glass lights that look like bubbles of magma and blown glass vessels slumped over steel and brass stands feature in Nouvel Limited’s latest collection.

Presented at Design Miami/Basel, the pieces were part of the Mexican glass manufacturer’s inaugural showing at the annual art and design fair in Switzerland.

The Magma wall light pieces are by Mexico City design studio EWE while the Precarius glass collection is by Mexican designers Héctor Esrawe and Emiliano Godoy, and Los Angeles-based designer Brian Thoreen.

Over several months, Esrawe, Godoy and Thoreen worked alongside the design team at Nouvel Limited to generate experimental large-scale pieces that take “glass design to new heights”.

“The work pushed the boundaries of the factory beyond the processes they normally use to create the products in their catalogue of designer pieces,” said the team at Nouvel Limited.

Upright steel and brass plates are joined together by transparent blown glass vessels, which are formed around them. The pieces hold each other in a delicate balance.

The metal plates were prepared by a local metalsmith, with the objective of altering them as little as possible from their steel mill origin.

The designers’ aim was to confront these materials with glass to highlight the perfection and beauty of Nouvel Limited’s materials and craftsmanship.

“The selection includes pieces of unusual dimensions in the field of glass design, some of them artistic in nature, while others feature a usefulness hint that augments the tension and drama of the designs,” said Nouvel Limited.

Accompanying the glass collection, the Magma lighting sculptures are were produced in a special golden edition for the show using moulds hand carved from volcanic stone by local stonemasons.

The volcanic stone was chosen for the moulds for its heat resistance. The thickness and tonality of the glass produced differs between each “bubble” so each one has its own characteristics.

The light’s golden glow is generated through an acid finish that is applied on the amber glass surface, together with the hand hammered brass surface that is contained within each one of the bubbles.

A limited edition of seven golden Magma lighting sculptures have been produced .

“The two collections share a similar spirit and materials palette, yet inhabit the space with different spacial strategies to generate an environment of great tension and refined intensity,” said Nouvel Limited.

“These collections on show expand the frontiers at the factory, opening the door of the creative laboratory to art and signature design.”

Also on show at Design Miami/Basel, which took place at the Messe Basel exhibition centre in the Swiss city from 12 to 17 June 2018, were a series of oversized bean bags and hanging chairs designed by Porky Hefer to resemble different animals under threat in the wild.

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