The colors emitted from the last hours of daylight is one of the sky’s mysterious phenomena and it was those that inspired Dutch-New Zealander designer Sabine Marcelis’ first solo exhibit in the U.S.
Marcelis, known for her futuristic vision and her flair for transforming industrial materials — especially resin, glass, mirrors and stone — into luminous objects, unfurled “Phases,” a collection of works inspired by the sky.
“The best colors occur when you are above the clouds. At sunset, when the clouds and the sun mix… how do you harness this ephemeral moment in a permanent object? That’s the question I always ask myself,” Marcelis told WWD on Thursday.
Within the space are suspended Lune sconces, 12 cast-resin panels named for each full moon that use tunable LEDs to shift color and mood; the Nebula spheres ensconce colored cores that transform passing light, and the Orb and Phase mirrors reflect the viewer through tinted surfaces that subtly distort space.
Salon 94 founder Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn said Marcelis’ profile is on the rise within the U.S. market, as the appetite for collectible design grows. Greenberg Rohatyn said Marcelis’ designs are rooted in the tradition of artists like Robert Irwin, Dan Flavin and James Turrell who worked with pure light, space, and human perception.
“There is an instant recognition and desire for her work here. Sabine’s use of colored resins and mirror is entirely her own: more sensorial, more chromatic, and operating fluidly across the boundary between art and design — which drew us to her practice,” Greenberg Rohatyn said.
Sabine Marcelis’ Phases at Salon 94.
Courtesy of Sabine Marcelis
Earlier this month, Marcelis cut the ribbon on “Cartier,” an exhibition featuring over 300 precious jewels at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. Her exhibit design vision, envisaged in partnership with partner Paul Cournet and his studio Cloud, incorporated luminescence and hues that radiated from the gems, dictating the color palette of purple, green, yellow and pink. In April, she showcased the installation “Maze” at Coachella and presented Plume, a pink resin sculpture of liquid and bubbles at Salone Raritas during Milan Design Week.
Phases will be on show at Salon 94 at 3 East 89th Street until July 31.
