Thin glass bars cleverly crafted to move like wings make up Studio Drift’s latest body of poetic work for the 2015 Venice Art Biennale.
Titled In 20 Steps, the Amsterdam-based artist-designers have channeled the ‘human desire to be able to fly, despite the force of gravity, and the poetry of persistence in the face of adversity,’ into one beautiful form.
It is that lyrical spirit that seems to fuel the elegant glass being of Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Naura; at once entirely natural and utterly mythical. In truth, it is operated by a complex system of brass-tipped glass bars, delicately suspended from the ceiling of Berengo Foundation’s Centre for Contemporary Art and Glass, pivoted by invisible plastic wires. The same wires are attached to an electronic system that rhythmically lengthens and shortens each, creating that mirrored undulating movement which mimicks flight.
'It says something about how we, as people, always think that we are able to understand everything,' they explain. 'To create a manul for it. As if everything can be completely understood. In 20 Steps refers to a logical, systematic way of explaining an ultra complex and inhuman activity, which actually cannot be explained. It has a certain irony in it.' An irony further reflected in the fragility of the glass wings and its industrial setting, both in direct conflict with the concept of freedom and flying away.
Part of Glasstress 2015 Gotika, a joint event with Berengo Studio and the Hermitage in St Petersburg, the installation also reflects the event's namesake theme. Studio Drift's interpretation centring on a shared desire of all humanity: 'the wish to escape earth and make the impossible possible.'
This kinetic sculpture is the latest of a beautiful crop from the Amsterdam-based duo. Their delicate and ethereal designs, along with their fascination with movement and light, has quickly becoming their signature - see their Rijksmuseum installation Shylight or dandelion-inspired spectacular from Fragile Futures. The common thread being that epic dialogue between opposites - a high tech dance, if you will - between nature and technology, fantasy and reality.
The Amsterdam-based artist-designers have channeled the ‘human desire to be able to fly, despite the force of gravity, and the poetry of persistence in the face of adversity’ into one beautiful form
The fragile glass bars are suspended by invisible plastic wires, held in place by delicate brass edges and operated by a complex electronic system
Creating the illusion of flight is the electronic operation system which rhythmically lengthens and shortens each wire
The poetic installation forms part of Glasstress 2015 Gotika, a joint event between Berengo Studio and the Hermitage in St Petersburg
ADDRESS
Berengo Foundation
Berengo Centre for Contemporary Art and Glass
Campiello della Pescheria, Murano
-
A celestial New York exhibition showcases Roman and Williams’ mastery of lightingLauded design studio Roman and Williams is exhibiting 100 variations of its lighting ‘family tree’ inside a historic Tribeca space
-
‘He immortalised the birth of the supermodel’: inside Dior’s career-spanning retrospective of photographer Peter LindberghOlivier Flaviano, curator and head of Paris’ La Galerie Dior, talks us through a new Peter Lindbergh retrospective, which celebrates the seminal German photographer’s longtime relationship with the French house
-
Take a bite: Laila Gohar and The Luxury Collection’s ‘Cakes & Candles’ are a sweet treat for the sensesLaila Gohar’s six cake-inspired candles draw on The Luxury Collection’s hotels around the world – where guests can enjoy matching edible confections
-
‘You don't want space; you want to fill it’: Milan exhibitionMaking its debut during Milan Design Week 2022 at Marsèll Paradise, a new exhibition by Matylda Krzykowski, explores how we approach the space we live in (until 15 July 2022)
-
Kohler and Daniel Arsham brought experiential art to Milan Design WeekLooking back on Daniel Arsham and Kohler’s Divided Layers installation, and the brand’s latest bathroom collection
-
Men’s mental health takes centre stage at an art and design exhibition by Tableau‘Confessions’, which travels to Copenhagen’s 3 Days of Design following its debut at Milan Design Week 2022, features commissioned work by 14 male artists, designers and architects, reflecting on toxic masculinity, vulnerability and mental health
-
Recycled glass tiles by Studio Plastique, Snøhetta and Fornace Brioni launch in MilanThe ‘Forite’ tile collection, which upcycles glass components from discarded fridges, ovens and microwaves, launches with an exhibition at Alcova during Milan Design Week 2022
-
Hermès’ annual Milan Design Week spectacle is inspired by brutalist water towersBringing colour and lightness to Fuorisalone 2022, Hermès’ installation at La Pelota conceals the maison’s latest collections of furniture, accessories and lighting
-
Alcova: wellbeing, cultural identity and the environment in focus at Milan Design Week 2022In its fourth edition during Milan Design Week 2022, Alcova brings together a diverse group of designers and brands curated by Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima
-
New Giorgetti furniture balances beauty and functionalityNew Giorgetti furniture, revealed at Salone del Mobile 2022 and photographed here at the rationalist Castrocaro Terme, is perfectly poised between beauty and functionality
-
Philippe Starck reinterprets Dior’s Louis XVI Medallion chair in MilanDior has commissioned Philippe Starck to put a contemporary twist on a classic piece of seating for Milan Design Week 2022, complete with an immersive installation at Palazzo Citterio
