Brazilian designers frequently use indigenous materials to give their creations a unique edge, but few have ventured beyond the country’s range of distinctive woods. For her latest lighting collection, 'Sintonia Fina', designer Claudia Moreira Salles experimented with niobium, a lustrous grey rare metal, native to Brazil, which she manipulated at different temperatures to produce a range of vibrant colours.
‘Except for a few pieces of jewellery, I‘ve never seen objects made with this metal,’ she says. ‘Using a controlled electrolysis process, niobium can achieve a spectrum of colours without the use of any pigment, and it produces an outcome that is different to anodised aluminium or any other stained or painted metal. I was captivated by the iridescence and surprising colours the process achieved.’
Moreira Salles formed sheets of niobium into semi-spherical lampshades, which, once coloured, were then juxtaposed with reclaimed wooden bases and components in a delicate balance of volume and weight. The limited-edition lighting will be presented this month alongside Moreira Salles’ new furniture collection at design gallery Espasso’s New York space.
The exhibition showcases a new series of lighting made from niobium, a material traditionally used in aeronautical manufacturing. Pictured: ’FM’ table lamp, 2016.
The show also presents a series of original furniture designed by Salles Moreira, in collaboration with Etel Interiores and Espasso, including coffee tables (left) and a reedition of Salles Moreira’s popular ’Canguru’ desk (pictured right, with the designer).
’Standby’ coat hangers, 2016.
Salles Moreira’s lamp shades are wrapped in sheets of the malleable metal...
...and then dipped in a chemical bath to be cured, revealing a fantastic array of colors
INFORMATION
’Fine Tuning’ is on view until 14 October. For more details, please visit the Espasso website
ADDRESS
Espasso
38 N Moore Street
New York, NY 10013
-
The Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II glides into the DMs of the world’s 1 per centThe Series II version of the ‘Baby Rolls’ has slight but sophisticated revisions to keep this hefty saloon in the targets of an increasingly idiosyncratic and individualist buyer
-
The 24 best photographs of 2024, shot for the pages of Wallpaper*Photography editor, Sophie Gladstone, completes her year in review, with some personal highlights from Wallpaper* photographers in 2024
-
Time, beauty, history – all are written into trees in Karimoku Research Center's debut Tokyo exhibitionThe layered world of forests – and their evolving relationship with humans – is excavated and reimagined in 'The Age of Wood', a Tokyo exhibition at Karimoku Research Center
-
Design Miami 2024 is alive with possibility: here are 14 things to seeDesign Miami 2024 opens 4-8 December – let Wallpaper* guide you to the highlights, from dazzling installations to plump sofas and anthropomorphic sculptures
-
Nendo’s collaborations with Kyoto artisans go on view in New York‘Nendo sees Kyoto’ is on view at Friedman Benda (until 15 October 2022), showcasing the design studio's collaboration with six artisans specialised in ancient Japanese crafts
-
Italian craftsmanship comes to Los Angeles in this eclectic Venice Canals apartmentBoffi Los Angeles celebrates a juxtaposition of texture throughout a waterside bolthole
-
Design Miami/Basel 2022 explores the Golden AgeDesign Miami/Basel 2022, led by curatorial director Maria Cristina Didero, offers a positive spin after the unprecedented times of the pandemic, and looks at the history and spirit of design
-
Kvadrat’s flagship New York showrooms encompass colourful design codesIndustrial designer Jonathan Olivares and architect Vincent Van Duysen have worked with Danish textile brand Kvadrat on the vast new space, also featuring furniture by Moroso
-
What to see at New York Design Week 2022Discover Wallpaper’s highlights from New York Design Week 2022 (10 – 20 May 2022): the fairs, exhibitions and design openings to discover
-
Colour defines LA ceramics studio and showroom of Bari ZipersteinStep inside the multifunctional ceramics studio, office and showroom of designer and artist Bari Ziperstein, designed by local firm Foss Hildreth
-
Design for Ukraine: Bocci and Design Miami join forces to raise fundsThe online sale of iconic Bocci pieces will benefit GlobalGiving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund, providing urgently needed humanitarian aid
