POLIARTE ALUMINUM & MURANO GLASS LIGHT SCULPTURE
CIRCLE 1970
Murano is the heart of glassmaking in Italy. Poliarte is the design house of lighting and legend. In this case, it was the Japanese designer Akikaze that focused the Poliarte name into functional sculpture.
Akikaze hearkens back to deco era of Metropolis, a clean and almost animated perspective on the great city from the Art Deco period, though It was designed and made in the 1970's of aluminum and kiln-formed (some say blown, but we suspect it was cast) glass that sits out from the aluminum panel to the extend of 6". The quality of sculpture is perfectly balanced with its function: a golden hour breathes through the glass, warming any room with a surprising softness from such a robust work of art.
You can feel the reminiscences and memory as well. This one feels to us like a piece of Superman's Fortress of Solitude, the Memory Crystal glowing. We imagine a more collective spirit, a light to remember, and also, to guide us.
Take a closer look at this magnificent piece here.
HINOKI CONSOLE
ERIKA BRUNSON
As Akikaze's piece breathes Japanese influence into European design house, Brunson's console reciprocates in equal measure.
Named for the Japanese cypress tree, a revered conifer, this highly textured and exceptionally refined console perfectly pairs with the Akikaze Poliarte wall sculpture. The form recalls a Japanese painting table, and feels of course, decorative, but also invitational and functional (especially at 34" high) - as if (and you might!) pull up and begin a new caligraphy project.
The linear quality is unusual for Brunson who for so long favored a representational narrative. But the departure is a success, revealing her affection for nature more subliminally in the surface of incredible detail with a crocodile textured lacquer.