×

Subscribe to our newsletter

Highlights From the Previous Week, Partnered Events and Haikus. View our Newsletter archive

Submersion for Panerai

For Panerai’s exhibition at D’Days Paris, 12 designers capture the majestic awe of the ocean.

Scroll right to read more ›
Text by Nadine Botha

The mysteries, expanse and beauty of the ocean is the theme of this year’s exhibition by Panerai at D’Days in Paris until May 14. The luxury Swiss watch manufacturer is showcasing work by 12 designers at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

From Mathieu Lehanneur’s dramatic Liquid Marble Table created with 3D modelling software typically used in the film industry, to Brynjar Sigurðarson’s poignant glacier-shaped candles, the work all emphasises the incontestable human connection to the majesty of nature.

Many of the works attempt to evoke the awe of nature with technical and craft virtuosity, such as Grethe Sørensen’s wondrous hyperrealistic tapestries of light reflecting off water in Venice, Tokyo and Denmark. Tora Urup, in turn, uses circular glass to create unfathomable visual effects. Both Scandinavian, Sørensen and Urup are represented by Galerie Maria Wettergren in Paris.

Unexpected materials are another strategy for wonder, as with French designer Damien Gernay’s leather tabletops that emulate the surface of the sea, as well as Dutch designer Teresa van Dongen’s Spark of Life lamp powered by electrochemically active bacteria.

Liquid Marble by Mathieu Lehanneur, installation at Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Photo: Michel Giesbrecht
Liquid Marble by Mathieu Lehanneur, installation at Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Photo: Michel Giesbrecht
Liquid Marble by Mathieu Lehanneur, installation at Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Photo: Michel Giesbrecht
Liquid Marble by Mathieu Lehanneur, installation at Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Photo: Michel Giesbrecht
Liquid Marble by Mathieu Lehanneur, installation at Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Photo: Michel Giesbrecht
Liquid Marble by Mathieu Lehanneur, installation at Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Photo: Michel Giesbrecht
Liquid Marble by Mathieu Lehanneur, installation at Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Photo: Michel Giesbrecht
Liquid Marble by Mathieu Lehanneur, installation at Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Photo: Michel Giesbrecht
Kurage light for Foscarini by Luca Nichetto and Nendo. Photo: Kasia Gatkowska
Kurage light for Foscarini by Luca Nichetto and Nendo. Photo: Kasia Gatkowska
The Glacier Project by Brynjar Sigurðarson. Photo: PCM Design
The Glacier Project by Brynjar Sigurðarson. Photo: PCM Design
Glass Sculpture by Tora Arup. Photo: Stuart McIntyre. Courtesy of Galerie Maria Wettergren
Glass Sculpture by Tora Arup. Photo: Stuart McIntyre. Courtesy of Galerie Maria Wettergren
Lillebælt-2-(detail)_-Grethe-Sørensen-_2016_Courtesy-Galerie-Maria-Wettergren_©-Bo-Hovgaard
Light Reflection by Grethe Sørensen. Photo: Bo Hovgaard. Courtesy of Galerie Maria Wettergren
Light Reflection by Grethe Sørensen. Photo: Bo Hovgaard. Courtesy of Galerie Maria Wettergren
Spark of Life by Teresa van Dongen. Photo: Hans Boddeke
Spark of Life by Teresa van Dongen. Photo: Hans Boddeke
Mer Noire Cliff Edition table by Damien Gernay. Photo: Bruno Timmermans
Mer Noire Cliff Edition table by Damien Gernay. Photo: Bruno Timmermans
Let Back Carpet by Jorian Brand.
Let Back Carpet by Jorian Brand.
Toul stool for Saint Luc by Jorian Brand. Photo: Marie Flores
Toul stool for Saint Luc by Jorian Brand. Photo: Marie Flores
Back

Articles you also might like

Galerie Nathalie Obadia Paris presents Nest In You, the forth solo exhibition by Laure Prouvost. The exhibition is on view through January 4th, 2025.

PAD Paris returns to the Tuileries for the 26th edition of this collectible art and design fair. The fair is on view between April 3-7, 2024.