During the events dedicated to the Salone internazionale del Mobile of Milano, the exhibition by Israeli designer Ayala Serfaty <b>SOMA. The beauty of the moon through clouds, is unveiled on 12 April at the Lorenzelli Arte gallery.
The term Soma, which in Greek means body and in Hebrew blindness, seen as a positive factor that prevents the human being from seeing the outside world but illuminates the inner emotional panorama, has been chosen to identify enchanted objects, genuine light sculptures consisting of a mesmerising interweaving of hyper-thin filaments of glass wrapped skin-like in a polymer membrane.
The glass veins, transparent or coloured, are hand made by a glassworks in Empoli especially for the artist, who patiently places them alongside each other in an increasingly dense ramification process, forming free designs in space, which derive from personal memories captured and re-evoked.
Capillary forms, organic grids of glass with a strong visual impact, endowed with an intrinsic poeticism, a dream-like sorcery of natural forms that is reminiscent of uncontaminated primordial crystalline landscapes, hazy where imposing icebergs and rocks are glimpsed standing out, and also the serenity of moonlight filtered by clouds.
Landscapes immortalised in the Soma collection through a dialectic between immobility, that of the forms sculpted in the material, and life, that of the breath, movement and changement implicit in Serfaty' sculptures, indispensable to maintain them alive.
“Vital” sculptures in constant equilibrium between stativity and dynamism, nature and artifice, light and shade, instantaneous yet capturing histories, sensations, special moments.
Memories of the artist's life sealed in clouds of bright glass, the result of meticulous hand crafting work that requires up to 40 days for the production of each item.
The starting point is a ceramic form hand-made following Ayala Serfaty' precise design, inside which a fluorescent light bulb is inserted and outside which transparent or coloured glass fibres with a thickness of 2 mm are woven, working with the flame, designing and interpreting the space in a different way each time.
The glass structure obtained is sprinkled with filaments of transparent polymer, giving the effect of a connective fabric covering the skeleton of the sculpture, a texture that blends with the structure, becoming an integral part of it.
24 unique pieces that investigate the countless expressive possibilities of the material, the symbolic relationship established between glass and polymers, apparently fragile, which when combined give rise to strong spatial elements where structure and surface merge together, creating spectacular interplays between surface, shadow and light.
24 works arranged in a staging that is all about ethereal white, but at the same time “solid”, telling of the lightness of dreams and reclaiming the importance of their meaning.
Essential floor and wall platforms showcase the Soma clouds, underlining the identity of each element that is expressed with different forms, evoking moments and past memories, enveloped in the moonlight that seeps from the glass and polymer shell of each of them.
12-23 April 2007, 10.00 AM - 8.00 PM
Opening: 12 April at 6.00
For further informations please call:
R+W: t 02 33104675 alessandra.montesi@r-w.it – barbara.barbato@r-w.it
Aqua Creations
In 1994, photographer Albi Serfaty and artist Ayala Serfaty founded Aqua Creations design studio, as a vehicle to develop, manufacture, and showcase artistic lighting and furniture designs. Shortly after, Aqua Creations succeeded in gaining public and media attention in many countries around the world.
Aqua Creations was first introduced to the design world in 1997.The collection was met with rave reviews and Ayala Serfaty was dubbed the "champion of new organic design," bringing together an organic aesthetic and an appreciation for practicality. The majestic “Morning Glory” lamp was awarded the “Best Lighting Award."
Ten years later, Aqua Creations has an extensive array of lighting and furniture lines, a limited-edition custom design division, and an increasing business in architectural and interior design projects, designing casino, hotel, and restaurant interiors. Aqua Creations employs more than forty people and is headquartered in Tel Aviv where all the creative work, design prototypes, and manufacturing are completed. This is the central hub of activity from which all creativity and product emerges. Today, Aqua Creations has two additional flagship delegations in New York and Shanghai, and the sought-after designs are displayed and distributed all over the world.
Despite the growth in the manufacturing and distribution process, the hand-made imprimatur still remains and all designs are rendered in the signature visual language, authenticity, and poetic appeal. Aqua Creations' skilled artisans continue to work on each piece individually, thus ensuring they remain works of art as well as products of design.
Aqua Creations' Silk Collection designs are created out of resin-coated silk, which yields both a wonderful sense of tactility and a suffused, colored light that is appealing and warm. The monumental scale of lighting sculptures combined with the exquisite use of fabrics has become Aqua Creations' trade mark over the years. The most recent designs in the Silk Collection include a magnificent tile collection creating quilt-like illuminated patterns, and a wide range of kinetic mobiles whose suspended, graceful elements move and balance in changing harmony emphasizing Aqua Creations' technical understanding of movement and light in space.