LAB Glass: From Fabrica to Los Angeles
With the Da Vetro collection, made exclusively for LA’s THE LAB, a group of young artists and designers from the Treviso centre test the limits of borosilicate glass
Call it a trial by fire: the inauguration of THE LAB, a new concept store from the team behind Los Angeles’ PLEASE DO NOT ENTER, features intricate Veneto-based glassmaking. But not the Murano style: instead, Emmanuel Renoird and Nicolas Libert partnered with Treviso powerhouse Fabrica and master glassblower Massimo Lunardon to produce Da Vetro, a limited-edition collection of whimsically shaped vases.
A group of eight young Fabrica designers hailing from three continents came up with the concepts, which were brought to life by Lunardon in Vicenza. [For more info on the inspiration behind each item and its designer, head to our captions by scrolling right.] The material of choice? The humble yet reliable borosilicate glass —think of Pyrex. “Borosilicate glass was the perfect material given its flexibility, its transparency and its affordable production cost,” explained Nicolas Libert. “We want these pieces to be recognised as glass artworks, as versatile and functional glassware and as collectible design pieces —hence, why we’ve limited the production to 30 pieces for each design.”
The structurally complex yet visually soothing objects are part of Short Memories, the opening exhibition of the gallery-cum-retail space, located on the ground floor of the NoMad Los Angeles. The show also features cloud-like lights from molo, a Vancouver-based studio led by Stephanie Forsythe and Todd MacAllen.
Short Memories is on display from March 15 to April 8 at THE LAB
Devised by Portuguese graphic designer Silvia Matias, the container evolves from and follows the shape of a plant.
(Cover image)
308 s
Lithuanian interaction designer Lukas Valiauga asks what five minutes would feel like in our potential new home, Mars. 308 s is an egg timer that counts the martian’s five minutes, a timing 2.8 percent longer than on Earth.
The vase by Italian product designer Elena Bompani is inspired by the shape of a bust, while the handle outlines the shape of a face.
Italian product designer Guglielmo Brambilla suggested a cone that precariously balances on the edge of a cylinder, frames and protects a single flower.
San Sebastián-born Ainhoa Garmendia, a product designer, took inspiration from the natural display of flowers, imitating their organic and voluptuous shapes.
Taiwanese multidisciplinary designer Jo-Chieh Huang came up with a tribute "to all the insignificant flowers in our everyday life."
South Korean product designer Jang Myungsik was inspired by the embrace between a mother and a child.
American intermedia artist M Wingren took inspiration from the champagne shape of global wealth distribution. "It's a wink to the systems that make its hypothetical creation, distribution, and purchase possible: the design of the object is a joke about the design of the object. The object itself is not a joke --it’s a glass."
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