chandelier exhibition david gill: zaha hadid and others

(above) zaha hadid
chandelier ‘lisse’, 2014
black corian and clear acrylic

chandeliers
david gill galleries, london
17th september through 20th october 2014

david gill galleries in london presents a curated collection of chandeliers by seven great creators: zaha hadid, fredrikson stallard, mattia bonetti, bnaby barford, fernando and humberto campana, gaetano pesce and jacopo foggini. the show comprising both new work using swarovski crystal and innovative mediums illustrates ‘different materials and forms, not just to challenge the traditional chandelier but also the contemporary chandelier.’ gill describes ‘sometimes what makes something contemporary is harkening back to the past. transforming forms and materials, and applying new technologies together with traditional craftsmanship makes a tantalizing blend side by side.’

drawing visual reference from tensile architectural forms, zaha hadid’s refraction of light chandelier ‘lisse’ illustrates a careful interplay between shadow and light. a polished black corian body comprises an intricate netting of lines stretching outwards to the ends of the structural frame. as a manifestation of hadid’s research into parametric patterning, ‘lisse’ references the ancient ornamental art of filigree, as a delicate fluidity seamlessly emerges as a compositional facet.

fredrikson stallard
chandelier ‘canon’, 2014
metal and swarovski crystal
all images courtesy of david gill galleries

‘cannon’ by fredrikson stallard maintains spatial simplicity that is both architectural and sculptural, deconstructing the classic and creating a novel chandelier language. bought ‘by the meter’, the shimmering tower is always relevant and unique to its environment, able to hung vertically, horizontally and everything in between.

fredrikson stallard
chandelier ‘canon’, 2014
metal and swarovski crystal

artist barnaby barford strikes the chandelier theme with his emblematic sense of wry humor for ‘jungle VIP’. tilted to the side, a swinging jewel encrusted monkey hangs from the sculptural form, covered with over 3,600 black swarovski crystals. ‘I wanted to give chandeliers a new life, change its context and make a sculpture out of it’ barford says ‘…and king louie’s song ‘I want to be like you’ in the ‘the jungle book’ started playing.’

barnaby barford,
chandelier ‘jungle VIP’, 2014
metal frame and black swarovski crystal

gaetano pesce presents one of the most representative pieces of his large-scale light creations: ‘what is to be human?’. warm glowing light illuminates through the resin material, its upward movement playing with the imagination as one would expect gravity to pull us down.

gaetano pesce
chandelier ‘what it is to be human?’, 2010
polyurethane, resin and metal structure

‘supernova’ has been designed by italian artist jacopo foggini in polycarbonate, using an innovative technique in which he hand forms fired thread at 280 degrees and twists the material into a maze of delicately intertwined matter. through this meticulous work, the artist expresses his sculptural qualities and as foggini says ‘therefore there is no possibility for any error or, possibly one could say, there is an intentional and recurring error like any light star ever realized before’

jacopo foggini
chandelier ‘supernova’, 2014
polycarbonate

paris-based swiss mattia bonetti presents ‘opera’ in sculpted bronze and swarovski crystal. of his influences for the chandelier design bonetti says ‘it’s quite improbable, [the story of] a lady that dresses to the nines to go to the opera or to the ball, coming back very late, in her high spirits she dips her arms on the floor below, and magically brings up lights.’

mattia bonetti
chandelier ‘opera’, 2014
sculpted bronze and swarovski crystal

referencing the decorative and ornate baroque style of the 17th and 18th century, brazil’s most significant contemporary designers humberto and fernando campana have designed the chandelier ‘pamphilj’. the sculptural light object combines hundreds of found and created bronze ornaments melded and gilded, each with its own history.

fernando and humberto campana
chandelier ‘pamphilj’, 2011
gilded bronze