Tobias Grau fuses light and emotion in global art project
Spearheaded by creative directors Timon and Melchior Grau, global collaborative initiative Artists for Tobias Grau explores the transformative power of lighting design
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Following the seismic global impact of events in early 2020, German lighting design experts Tobias Grau sought to further understand the emotional power of light, this time through art.
The light-bulb moment
This ignited Artists for Tobias Grau, for which the brand sent lights to artists across the globe and asked them to offer a carte blanche creative response. The resulting creations from artists including Tanya and Zhenya Posternak, Darryl Daley, Johann Clausen and Sarah Blais were wide-ranging: photographs, videos, illustrations, installation shots, and CGI images, each interpreting the fusion of light and emotion in new ways.
Salt and Pepper
Irons in the fire
2020 was a busy year for Timon and Melchior Grau, the brand’s creative directors and sons of its eponymous founder. As well conceiving Artists for Tobias Grau, the duo took part in the inaugural Wallpaper* Re-Made initiative, presenting their plans for an installation called ‘Fire’ in the August 2020 issue. As artists, light and its influence on our lives is at the heart of their practice. Their project aims to alleviate seasonal disorder by emitting a powerful light to soothe winter blues, as well as channel the age-old connection between humans, emotions and fire.
Fire
New light
In 2021, Tobias Grau plans to incorporate other disciplines into the series beyond photography. In collaboration with creatives, they will continue to explore the solace, joy and transformative potential of light as a creative medium, while supporting artists in continually turbulent times.
Portrait of Ben
Falling
INFORMATION
The Tobias Grau collection is available on WallpaperSTORE*
tobiasgrau.com (opens in new tab)
Harriet Lloyd-Smith is the Arts Editor of Wallpaper*, responsible for the art pages across digital and print, including profiles, exhibition reviews, and contemporary art collaborations. She started at Wallpaper* in 2017 and has written for leading contemporary art publications, auction houses and arts charities, and lectured on review writing and art journalism. When she’s not writing about art, she’s making her own.
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