fare lume: candles between art + design

‘digit’ by meric kara, 2005 image courtesy of foscarini

fare lume museo poldi pezzoli, milan april 5th to may 21st, 2012

‘fare lume’ is an exhibition showcasing over 60 items dedicated to the most traditional form of light, the candle. presented by italian lighting company foscarini and curated by beppe finessi, the pieces on display range in items from photographs, drawings, sculptures and interactive installations. the designed objects and contemporary artworks deal with a subject that has spanned the centuries and which continues to evolve to this present day. projects by marcel wanders, philip starck, richard meier and jean-marie massaud also have their works featured in the show.

‘we looked at two decades to the mark of the new millennium and amazingly we find ourselves thinking, imagining, representing, designing, and still dreaming about candles.’ – finessi

istabul-based designer meric kara practices the clean technology of surprising thought and fertile cross-breeding. the work intertwines threads of irony with flashes of perfidy. collecting matches, igniting them at times with flames of black. on a face of white ceramic red wax numbers appear: from 0 to 99, ‘digit’ is a time counter made of candles.

‘le morandine’ by sonia pedrazziniimage courtesy of foscarini

‘le morandine’ by italian-based designer sonia pedrazzini is a series of candles formed to resemble the appearance bottles. the permeated tones of the objects are borrowed from her many personal paintings. variance in size and shapes allows the user to create many combinations and configurations set in their domestic household.

‘lumedicandela’ by lorenzo palmeri, 2010 image © lorenzo palmeri

milan-based designer lorenzo palmeri has developed ‘lumedicandela’ a candle that responds directly to the typical gesture of using a bottle as a holder. as the wax begins to burn, the excess forms a sleeve around the empty vessel. the stand alone piece is also available in three different colors.

‘swan candlestick’ by simon donald, 2010image courtesy of foscarini

london-based product designer simon donald has developed ‘swan candlestick’ has a oak base of the holder provides a small insert to store matches which is traditionally kept separate from the candle. a brass insert props up the cylinder where the yellow sandpaper on the face provides an integrated ignite source for the flame.

‘lucina red’ by alessandra baldereschi, 2009 image courtesy of skitsch

‘lucina red’ by milan-based designer alessandra baldereschi is an ironic paradox of wax that observes an everyday object of another nature, the incandescent bulb. it is consumed and does not consume. it transforms its material and size, and above all its method of use and therefore its meaning.

kiki van eijk is a netherlands-based visionary teller of domestic fables enlivened by special objects that are offspring of the dutch tradition. her creatures, more bent on showing off then on serving us, come from a lucid imagination that feeds on lots of handiwork and great meteoric quality. she chooses off-scale, functional hybrids, precious details of epilogues which are always positive. ‘love!’ is a tale of a candle holder, the symbol of fire, that meets the water pitcher as they live happily ever after.

‘lùmen’ by milan-based designer bonomo faita has created a one-off photographic print measuring 20 x 15 cm, expresses how simple white candle and wooden curving umbrella base can work together to provide light to the dark spaces.