In a captivating display within a minimalist Tribeca loft, Bocci unveiled its groundbreaking 93 collection, a series of luminaires that defy conventional design. Known for its audacious experimentation with materials and production techniques, the Vancouver-based studio has once again pushed boundaries, exploring the mesmerizing interaction between molten aluminum and hand-blown, still-hot glass vessels.
The Fusion of Opposites: An Alchemical Masterpiece
The genesis of the 93 collection lies in a decade-long inquiry into the delicate relationship between glass and metal. Bocci’s artisans, wielding blowpipes and crucibles, embarked on a journey to fuse two seemingly disparate elements. The result is a testament to their ingenuity: a series of unique forms born from the precise calibration of expansion rates, allowing molten aluminum to be poured directly into thick-walled, hot glass spheres without catastrophic failure. As Bocci cofounder Omer Arbel explains, “By calibrating their rates of expansion, we were able to work with the two materials without catastrophic failure. A thick-walled glass sphere is blown and aluminum is poured manually, producing a fluid metal silhouette.” This controlled alchemy transforms primary natural states into new, proprietary paradigms, where the inherent qualities of each material are not just preserved but elevated through their union.
Illuminating the Unseen: A Symphony of Light and Form
For the observer, the 93 collection offers an extraordinary visual experience. The hardened, yet subtly iridescent and formally variable, metal seamlessly integrates with the clear glass, creating a vessel that beautifully contains the incorporeal essence of light. This isn’t merely decorative; it’s a profound demonstration of a new, tenable process with boundless applications. Arbel elaborates, “Light enters the glass wall and grazes the metal where they meet, expressing the act of making in a single gesture.”
The magic unfolds as concealed LEDs direct light downward into the cavities and laterally through the glass walls. Interior metal disks further diffuse this illumination outward, ensuring a holistic glow. Each interceded orb, fully illuminated from within, reveals its unique, idiosyncratic make-up—an almost fossilized imprint of the heat, pressure, and fire that shaped it, guided by precise human intervention. Consequently, no two pieces in the 93 collection are ever identical, each bearing the indelible mark of its creation.
A New Horizon in Experiential Design
The 93 collection transcends mere lighting; it represents a bold step forward in experiential design, where the process of making is as integral to the art as the final product. It invites viewers to contemplate the delicate balance between control and spontaneity, craft and innovation. Bocci continues to redefine the boundaries of material expression, offering not just luminaires, but luminous sculptures that tell a story of elemental transformation.
Discover this and other visionary works at bocci.com. Photography by Fahim Kassam and Elliot Black.
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