A transborder glass collaboration forges at Zona Maco in Mexico City
An inventive, transborder design collaboration sees the light of day at the 15th edition of Zona Maco art fair in Mexico City (7-11 February). Two of Mexico’s coveted designers, Héctor Esrawe and Emiliano Godoy, have teamed up with the LA-based Brian Thoreen to produce a collection that pushes the boundaries of glass design.
Fifteen pieces are on display this week at the booth of Nouvel Studio, a Mexico City-based glassblowing brand and workshop, who commissioned the project — and more pieces are in the making. Combining functionality and innovation, the design objects incorporate materials like steel, brass and stone, and place them into an unlikely dialogue with glass, where minimalism meets organic forms.
‘Our ambition was to confront these materials with glass, and highlight the beauty of Nouvel Studio’s craftsmanship,’ explains Godoy, a leader in sustainable design. When the brand approached the two Mexican designers (who are long-time collaborators), Esrawe quickly suggested to include Thoreen, who is now in the process of relocating his design studio to Mexico City. ‘There’s freedom that comes from affordable space, and a culture of pushing creative boundaries,’ explains the designer of his new adopted home.
The untitled collection is composed of five different strands, each with a distinctive approach to glass work and materiality. At Zona Maco, the series ‘Precarious’ is the most represented, and consists of glass pieces formed around steel and brass plates, co-existing in a delicate calibration. ‘The contrast is quite severe,’ affirms Thoreen, whose previous solo collection ‘Unsettled’ debuted at Patrick Parrish in New York last year. ‘The glass is transparent, while the plates are rougher and less refined,’ he continues.
Meanwhile, the series ‘Bedrock’ and ‘The Upside Down’ introduce the use of locally-sourced stone. The first consists of light, coral pink rectilinear volumes, gracefully proportioned between an open glass container and the stone-based foundation it delicately rests on. And the second combines a rough, chiseled stone pyramid with a glass cylinder, which, depending on its configuration, can be used as a side table or a vase.
‘We left many in-progress concepts and pieces for future collections,’ explains Esrawe of the ongoing collaboration. In the midst of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiation, this feels like a timely reminder that innovation across borders continue to advance the creative fields in exciting and, often, unexpected ways.
INFORMATION
Zona Maco is on view until 11 February. For more information, visit the Zona Maco website, the Esrawe website, the Emiliano Godoy website, the Brian Thoreen website and the Nouvel Studio website
ADDRESS
Centro Citibanamex
Lomas de Sotelo
Hipódromo de las Américas
11200 Miguel Hidalgo
CDMX
Mexico
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Maude’s Brâncuși-inspired sex toys go on display in a new Paris exhibition
Maude’s design-led vibrators are now on display at Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, as part of ‘Private Lives: From the Bedroom to Social Media’. Brand founder Éva Goicochea talks to Wallpaper* about partnering with the museum and opening up cultural conversations around sex
By India Birgitta Jarvis Published
-
‘I was captivated by the idea of merging two iconic brands’: Nigo on his 1990s-inspired collaboration with Moncler and Mercedes-Benz
Unveiled at Moncler’s ‘The City of Genius’ event in Shanghai this past weekend, Japanese fashion designer Nigo unpacks his three-way collaboration with Moncler and Mercedes-Benz, which includes a play on the G-Class alongside a fashion collection in his eclectic style
By Jack Moss Published
-
Cathay Pacific’s new business class Aria Suites take flight
Cathay Pacific raises the bar for business-class travel with the launch of the much-anticipated Aria Suites
By Lauren Ho Published
-
Brooklyn furniture studio Stillmade unveils its first collaborative design series
Stillmade brings to life the designs of four New Yorkers – Pat Kim, Danny Kaplan, Michele Quan and Mignogna Studio
By Pei-Ru Keh Published
-
Blue Green Works's lighting champions a new aesthetic in American design
Manhattan-based design studio Blue Green Works fuses sensuality and masculinity to create mellow, mood-enhancing lighting with visual impact
By Pei-Ru Keh Published
-
Blue Green Works introduces alluring new lighting collection
Inspired by iconography, American design studio Blue Green Works introduces five new lighting ranges
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
How to live fabulously: Ash Staging creates colourful house interior in LA
Ash Staging pays tribute to the 1990s with this Los Angeles home interior, featuring breathtaking views and filled with contemporary pieces and vintage design icons
By Pei-Ru Keh Published
-
Glassware sets for every occasion
Our edit of contemporary glassware sets, from everyday kitchen glassware to dinner party-appropriate wine and cocktail glasses, by the best designers and makers
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Exclusive peek at artfully curated home in Jean Nouvel’s 53 West 53
RR Interiors' latest furnishing project – 61A at 53 West 53 – highlights art, architecture and city views inside Jean Nouvel's monumental New York skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan
By Martha Elliott Last updated
-
Industrial elements are imbued with elegance in Holly Hunt’s new Los Angeles showroom
Holly Hunt and architects Johnston Marklee have created a warm and tactile space in a 1940s building
By Hannah Silver Last updated
-
Sculptural ceramic lamps from Brooklyn’s In Common With and Danny Kaplan
‘Terra’, a new collection of ceramic lamps featuring tactile glazes, puts Brooklyn studio In Common With and ceramicist Danny Kaplan in the spotlight
By Pei-Ru Keh Last updated