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aquacreations: like an alchemist, designer ayala serfaty applies equal parts design and fine art principles .....................................................................
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 ......................... shop .................. competitions .............. education ................ interviews ................... snapshots ................... history .......... contemporary
..... for singular work of art, design, fashion .... february 2001 |
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| aquacreations like an alchemist, designer ayala serfaty applies equal parts design and fine art principles, and a zealous dose of visual whimsy when concocting her lamps and furniture. the result is an imaginative line of luxurious and lively pieces inspired by nature: walking jellyfish and wafting sea flora silk lamps, and bright suede furniture. ayala’s penchant for tactile, organic design stems from not having a background in design at all, but first training as a fine artist. 'I think I’m very fortunate not to have studied design, but art. the principles are the same, but my starting point is complete freedom. my works are sculptures. and the only extra-aesthetic matter that concerns me is comfort. I am constantly trying to improve that side of my works, checking proportions, tilt, materials.' ayala walks a fine line between the art and design world. every piece is handmade upon order, one-off pieces and custom pieces are also made. ayala first trained in her home country of israel at jerusalem’s bezalel academy of art and continued at london’s middlesex polytechnic. soon after she began as a prop maker for theater and photography sets in the early 1990s. in 1992 ayala received a commission from an advertising agency to design 'a crazy armchair.' ayala recalls, 'I went wild since they asked me to do whatever was on my mind.' immediately afterward she and her husband,albi, vacationed in sinai. it was there while snorkeling among the coral and fish in the red sea that visions of lamps replicating the other worldly beauty of sea life erupted onto ayala’s creative agenda. two years later in a prestigious tel aviv gallery show these lamps would comprise her first collection aptly called 'aqua creations', transforming her from a young sculptor to a furniture designer. it began as a spiritual connection to her child in the red sea: 'I was pregnant then with my first daughter and sensed that this feeling of floating in warm water was my way of communicating with her.' highly regarded critics like peter cook and paola antonelli have responded in kind. early in her career in 1994 peter cook remarked, 'ayala has reached serious territory from which the routes in all directions now involve techniques as well as the endearing and engaging fruitiness. she is into that best and most intriguing territory and she is at full flow.' in 1997 ayala and her 'aqua creation' lamps and furniture broke onto the international scene after receiving rave reviews at her first milan 'salon del mobile'. according to her credits; the best lighting award at the 1996 ICFF, the 1998 ID forty, the best of LA award at the los angeles contemporary design spring 1999 show and the 2000 george nelson award. In 1998 she was given the opportunity to design a permanent 'aqua creations wonderland' in the world’s only undersea restaurant, red sea star, located in eliat, israel. 'aqua' pieces were also instrumental in softening the image of san francisco’s hotel nikko, for which the design team received the 1998 gold key award from hospitality design. resembling the immersion experience of these two public spaces, exhibitions of ayala’s lamps and furniture have been held at fine art and design museums in israel, france and germany. 'aqua creations' incorporated since 1992, 'aqua creations' operates a showroom, an interior design studio, a lightning design studio and a furnishing company. all at down town tel-aviv, israel. http://www.aquagallery.com ---  ------- monthly designboom newsletter ------- ------- ? comments and contact us ? ------- |
 T U R T L E T A B L E ------------------------------ metal & slate  Y U L I B U L I ----------------------------------- wood, velvet, and leather  S T O O L P E Z O N A S ----------------------------------- velvet & alcantara  P A R A D I S E D U V E ---------------------------------- Hand painted velvet, Metal and suede  P A R A D I S E A R M C H A I R -------------------------------------------- Hand painted velvet, Metal and Leather  T U R K I S H D E L I G H T ---------------------------------------- Sawdust on beachwood and Hand painted velvet |
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