10 Question Column: Artist America Martin in Los Angeles

Painter America Martin photographed in front of her recent works at her studio in Silverlake, Los Angeles. 

America Martin's series of paintings Native Americans, Bathers and Still Life are inspired by her travels in Taos and Aix-en-Provence. The artist answers Jeanne-Marie Cilento's 10 Questions about her life and work. Additional reporting by Ambrogio De Lauro

WHEN I first saw America Martin’s paintings of the human form, I was entranced by the bold lines, rich color and the beatific energy they radiate. Her figurative works are emblematic and yet resonate with feeling and expression. The paintings’ graphic quality is contemporary and yet has a profound connection to the masters of 20th Century Modernism such as Cézanne, Modigliani and Picasso.

Looking back today, Martin says her passion for painting began when she bought a book about Van Gogh at the age of nine years old. As a precocious child of Los Angeles, by ten she had already begun studying with Vernon Wilson, a professor at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Growing up in the Hollywood Hills, Martin continued this apprenticeship for the next eight years while attending the Crossroads School for the Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica, California.

After high school, she went on to study at the Boston Museum School and then moved back to Los Angeles. Martin soon began exhibiting and selling her work with other young artists, and being Los Angeles, they asked celebrities or people interested in their work to host the shows. Working from her mother’s garage, she was able to build up enough work to get the attention of art galleries. By starting to sell her work early, Martin was able to create a career in full-time painting in her twenties. 

One of Martin’s key focuses has always been exploring the female figure along with Native Americans, jazz musicians, street scenes, landscapes and still life studies. Today, Martin paints in a large and light studio in Los Angeles's Silverlake which she has also made a hub for local cultural events. The artist has had many solo shows and participated in group exhibitions across North America and she has published two books about her work, the most recent called Yes came out in December 2013.

1. What part of painting and sculpting gives you the most happiness? And do you find your creative process is more rational or instinctive?

I have always believed that the life of an artist is not one that you choose ~ it is a life that chooses you. It is something you have to do. But to do what you love, to do what you dream, is happiness. I have found that art, when true, when it is good, when it breathes and lets you breathe, comes only from instinct.

I believe that art dies when it is created from rationality. For artists are inherently ridiculously irrational people. They feel too much, they dream too much and they are led around by their enormous hearts. Nevertheless, can you think of an era throughout history that was not influenced by artists?

2. Where did you grow up and does this influence your artwork?

I grew up in the wonderful city of Los Angeles, California. Being a native of L.A has greatly influenced my work. The temperate weather, the abundant resources and the cultural diversity is endlessly inspiring.

3. Why did you choose painting and sculpture as your artistic métier?

I am in love with life and with being alive. When I participate in and observe the world, painting and sculpture are the natural ways in which I am inclined to respond. Painting uses the eye and the heart; sculpture uses the hand and the mind. To do both is like breathing with both lungs.

4. How did your apprenticeship with Vernon Wilson at the Art Center College of Design and studying at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston influence your work?

Both experiences have given me a life-long desire to be be intensely curious. They taught me that the duty of an artist is to be ready to learn .

5. You have a singular and bold line in your drawings, paintings and sculpture. How did you develop this style of work?

To me, line is love. It is how I admire a subject. Line is how my eye naturally simplifies what I see. When I look at a woman, a man, I instantly see the lines that stand out - and I watch the lines that are less important fade. I know within a few minutes how I would paint them and how I would sculpt them. This line, this intensely joyful curiosity, is something that comes without thinking. It is something with which I believe I was born.

6. Is there a particular color or palette of colors you like to work with?

I take great delight in color. But I also find that there is always more to discover about the many hues of gray, blue and brown.

7. Do you have a set schedule of working creatively everyday in your studio in Los Angeles or is the process more fluid?

I work six days a week. I do not work on Sundays. I have found that art shows up only when you do.

8. What is it like working as an artist in Los Angeles?

Los Angeles is a wonderful place for artists. The sun shines and the sea and the mountains are close by. People come here ready to work and make their dreams come true. That kind of intention has made the air in Los Angeles rich with hope.

9. What inspired you to create the Native American, Bathers and Still Life series?

The mountains and planes of New Mexico are vast. The sky is constantly changing while the land lies still and welcomes the wind to come rolling in, full of memory. In July last year, I attended the enormous Pueblo Pow-wow in Taos, New Mexico. I took photos and listened to a visual story of people who create ceremony to celebrate community, to commemorate and to remember.

Native Faces is a series of paintings and works on paper inspired by the people I met. They are not meant to be strictly representational, but come from a reverence for the dignity of the men, women and children whom I had a chance to meet and observe, who gathered together to honor not only their own ancestors and their own history, but time itself.

The Bathers is a series of paintings created in homage to Paul Cézanne, one of the great masters of Impressionism. He created countless paintings centered on the bather theme that have long enthralled me. I recently visited Cézanne’s studio in Aix-en-Provence. There I was able to see the landscape that fed his palette: the green of the hills, the lean of the trees, the jagged mountains and the sky.

I came away inspired and hungry to create a bathers series in my own voice, color and form. The human form is a landscape that never tires me. There are always new discoveries to be made and great joy in capturing the figure with a few simple lines.

The Still Life paintings arise from quiet, daily adventures. On Saturdays I have a routine. I go to my neighborhood farmer’s market where I buy a few robust pieces of fruit, a languid leek or a bunch of cheerful flowers. I arrange a still life and do a drawing, a painting, or a sculpture. I discover new shapes from fruit, from flowers and from simple pieces of pottery. After I complete a piece, I eat the fruit or cook the leek. 

10. In our digital age what do painting and sculpture give us as art forms?

This is a fantastic time because technology makes the sharing of communication and information so much easier than at any other time in history. The world and all its bounty are but a click away. Nevertheless, the prime function of all artists is still to create something from nothing, to solve problems, to dare to dream ~ and to find ways to realize those dreams. 

However slick we get as a society, there is still beauty in work, dignity in sweat, and triumph in confronting things that are difficult. The style and the voices of artists will continue to be as unique as each individual regardless of the advancements of time and technology.

Click on photographs for full-screen slideshow of America Martin's new paintings

Artist America Martin working in her large and light studio in Silverlake, Los Angeles

Bathers, Birds and Flowers Ink on paper 20 x 30 inches and framed 25.5 x 30 inches.

Women Gathering Lantern Flowers Oil and acrylic on canvas 57 x 67 inches.

America Martin photographed at her studio in Los Angeles.

Bathers in Orange and Blue Oil and acrylic on canvas 81.5 x 72 inches. 

Bathers Picking Flowers Ink on Paper 30 x 20 inches and framed 36 x 26 inches. 

Siren in Sea of Flowers Oil and acrylic on canvas 35 x 78 inches. 

Yellow Pitcher and Watermelon Oil and acrylic on canvas  46.5 x 56 inches.

Bear Claw Necklace Oil and acrylic on canvas 58.5 x 52.5 inches. 

Blue Felt Hat  Oil and Acrylic on Canvas. 57 x 50 inches.

Chrysanthemum and Trumpet Flowers  Oil and acrylic with resin on canvas 26 x 20 inches.

Sunshine Man Oil and acrylic on canvas. 48 x 48 inches

New Architecture: Mirage House on the Island of Tinos, Greece

“We wanted to make a house fused with its surroundings, a hidden almost invisible oasis.The rimless pool makes it seem as if the water extends to the horizon, vanishing and merging with the seascape," says architect Stelios Kois (pictured above).

A spectacular new house being built on the rocky coastline of Greece’s Tinos Island will have an enormous, sparkling rooftop pool that appears to merge with the Aegean sea beyond, writes Jeanne-Marie Cilento. Additional reporting from Greece by Antonio Visconti

ARCHITECT Stelios Kois was born near Mount Athos amid the wild landscape of red earth, dotted with monasteries full of Byzantine icon paintings. This mystical environment plus his university studies in Italy and Japan influenced his vision of architecture and predeliction for a purity of design that expresses spatial and spiritual serenity.

Kois Associated Architects' new project is located on the rocky south-west coastline of the Island of Tinos in the Cyclades. Known as the Island of the Madonna, Tinos is the greatest centre of pilgrimage in Greece. Among the rugged, rocky terrain are more than 40 white, picturesque stone villages. There are also more than a thousand churches amid the hills and valleys as well as thousands of dovecotes and windmills and kilometres of dry stonewalls that make this landscape unique.

Called Mirage, the house designed by Stelios Kois is situated on a steep, rocky site overlooking the Aegean Sea. The position commands panoramic views of the land and water. “Our goal is to integrate the building into the landscape like it is part of it,’’ says Kois. “The living space will be covered by a rimless pool that produces a visual effect of water extending to the horizon, vanishing and merging with the seascape.”

As you approach the house from above you will only be able to see the sparkling water of the infinity pool seemingly becoming one with the sea. During the day, the water will reflect the surrounding rock formations and at night the stars in the sky.

“We wanted to make a house fused with its surroundings, an invisible oasis hidden from unsuspecting eyes,” says Kois. "The house is almost like an observation point as it clings to the rocks and oversees the dramatic cascading landscape.”

The building is being constructed from local materials using traditional techniques such as the characteristic dry wall construction found on the island. Like the rooftop pool, the stone parts of the house will also merge into the surrounding rocky landscape.

Hidden in the stony landscape, the Mirage house will be an oasis where the owners can enjoy the wide-ranging views over the Aegean Sea without giving up their privacy. Kois decided to bury part of the building in the coastline. He created a large open-air living room at the front sheltered beneath the rooftop pool, which will act as a huge mirror and help camouflage the building among its surroundings.

"Some of our clients' major concerns were visibility and privacy," says project architect Nikos Patsiaouras. "At first we were concerned with the concept of invisibility. We asked ourselves 'How can you make a building disappear?'. Our response was to mimic elements of the landscape. The effect of the mirroring of the pool in combination with the concept of invisibility brought to mind the visual phenomenon of the mirage, from which the project was named," he says. Dry stone walls will surround sections of the interior and also frame the building's entrance. These are designed to echo the traditional walls that can be seen all over the scenic island.

"The elements that stirred our imagination most were the linear drywall constructions that articulate the landscape and the scattered shallow concrete water-reservoirs used for agricultural purposes," Patsiaouras explains. Also using the area’s stone will have a low impact on the environment and will be very efficient as an insulating material. Kois plans to add rammed-earth walls around the rear of the building, with layers of vegetation that will help to create a cool internal environment.

As the house is located on a natural plateau, inside it will have 200 square metres of space forming a simple single-storey layout, including three bedrooms, a kitchen and an outdoor living room.

Click on photographs for full screen slideshow

Called Mirage, the house designed by Stelios Kois is situated on a steep, rocky site overlooking the Aegean Sea. The position commands panoramic views of the land and water.  

"We asked ourselves 'How can you make a building disappear?'. Our response was to mimic elements of the landscape. The effect of the mirroring of the pool in combination with the concept of invisibility brought to mind the visual phenomenon of the mirage, from which the project was named," says Nicos Patsiaouras.

"The elements that stirred our imagination most were the linear drywall constructions that articulate the landscape and the scattered shallow concrete water-reservoirs used for agricultural purposes," project architect Nick Patsiaouras explains. 

As you approach the house from above you will only be able to see the sparkling water of the infinity pool seemingly becoming one with the sea. During the day, the water will reflect the surrounding rock formations and at night the stars in the sky. 

The building is being constructed from local materials using traditional techniques such as the characteristic dry wall construction found on the island. Like the rooftop pool, the stone parts of the house will also merge into the surrounding rocky landscape. 

Kois decided to bury part of the building in the coastline. He created a large open-air living room at the front sheltered beneath the rooftop pool, which will act as a huge mirror and help camouflage the building among its surroundings.

London Fashion Week: Menswear Spring/Summer Collections 2015

Sarah Burton was thinking about Japanese kabuki theatre before she visited the Matisse Cut-Outs exhibition at Tate Modern this spring. The two themes came together brilliantly in a colourful, upbeat Alexander McQueen catwalk show. Picture courtesy of Alexander McQueen

DAM's fashion correspondent Limor Helfgott report on the highlights from the new menswear collections shown in London for spring/summer 2015. The design spectrum ran the gamut from retro 70’s flares to knitted pom-pom face masks and from sleek tailoring to dark Goth style

BRITISH catwalks featured their signature innovative and edgy style mixed with contemporary and charming British classics. One of the outstanding collections of this season was Sarah Burton’s latest show for Alexander McQueen that was held at the Royal College of Surgeons. She created an exciting, youthful collection with a streetwise edge. The models were sent out on to the catwalk to the sounds of Missy Elliot.

Burton’s inspiration was Henri Matisse and Japanese Kabuki Theatre. She wanted the brand to feel "less period, less historical" this season, with a more progressive and unique look. Wavy motifs like a painter’s brushstroke were splashed across white suits, loose turtlenecks and boxy coats. The shapes were bold and sleek - leather shorts worn over tights, red satin lining showing from under a lean white cotton coat and Prince of Wales checks on boxy trench coats or appliquéd onto the front of satin bomber jackets.

Alexander McQueen’s signature sharply tailored jackets featured tri-colour swirls of white, black and red and were combined with long, pointy brogues or all-white tennis shoes.The clever thing about the collection was that there was a hint of punk rock in the outfits, even though many of the looks were a brilliant take on the best of classic English tailoring - like the double-breasted suit teamed with sneakers. Burton also made references to past McQueen menswear collections mixing pinstripes and checks together to create Daliesque contemporary suits. 

"I wanted the show to be less period than usual, without so much historicism" said Burton back stage after the McQueen show. "What I got from Kabuki theatre and Matisse was an idea of scale and proportion, and the impact of simple shapes on a clean background." Picture courtesy of Alexander McQueen

Burton played on the scale of three classic menswear fabrics: the Houndstooth, Birdseye and Prince of Wales check, used in combinations as a new type of patchwork or woven as Jacquards in the abstracted Kabuki pattern. 

The construction of the jackets is pared back with a slight shoulder pad to give just enough structure. Silhouettes are oversized or elongated and trousers are cut wide and loose or drop crotched and skinny. Picture courtesy of Alexander McQueen

Inspired by Matisse, Alexander McQueen's designer Sarah Burton used wavy motifs like a painter’s brushstroke to splash across white suits, loose turtlenecks and boxy coats. Picture courtesy of Alexander McQueen

McQueen’s sharply tailored jackets with swirls of white and black were combined with long, pointy brogues or all-white tennis sneakers. Picture courtesy of Alexander McQueen

An abstracted Kabuki pattern is the dominant and recurring motif featured throughout the collection. It is used all-over, as an asymmetric placement or stripped back to just a single block of colour. Picture courtesy of Alexander McQueen

Tailoring for the new McQueen menswear collection is slashed on the revere or under the pockets, reworked as panels to reveal vivid red lining on long and lean coats and suit jackets. Picture courtesy of Alexander McQueen

The London fashion brand Sibling are known for their kooky knitwear for men. This season they were inspired by working class Northern teenagers. The idea behind their West Side Story themed collection was about wanting to be part of a collective or tribe. Yet is was a notably nonconformist show. "The pack anonymity of a group of hoodies, the up-yours gesture of a boy in a skirt or the societal baiting of a shocking hairstyle... challenging conformity and in-your-face declarations are everything," said the designers. The collection featured pierced double denim, armour-like spiked hoodies, a crochet face mask, bone necklaces and dark cartoonish skulls prints that were created by artist Mike Egan, as a part of his collaboration with the studio.

The Sibling catwalk was a wild show with a Goth feel to it but presented with great styling - and it looked urban and modern. The show closed with two giant raffia pom-pom constructions that suggested the avant-garde designer Leigh Bowery (a regular Sibling inspiration). The finale could be considered a gimmick, but represented the individuality of the brand and fitted with the collection's message to teenagers during tough times: be yourself.

The Sibling catwalk show closed with two giant raffia pom-pom constructions that suggested the avant-garde designer Leigh Bowery. Picture by Shaun James Fox British Fashion Council

Sibling are known for their kooky knitwear for men. This season they were inspired by working class Northern teenagers. The idea behind their West Side Story themed collection was about wanting to be part of a collective or tribe. Picture by Sam Wilson, BFC

Sibling's collection featured pierced double denim, armour-like spiked hoodies, bone necklaces and dark cartoonish skulls print created by artist Mike Egan, as a part of his collaboration with the studio. Picture by Sam Wilson BFC

Drawing inspiration from his Ghanaian roots, Adrian Sauvage likes to combine his history with British references to subcultures, mods and punks. The designer continues the theme at this season’s London menswear shows of taking the suit out of the office. Sauvage says all you need is a printed shirt to dress down your tailoring at the weekend.

The collection featured skinny suits, bright bold colours and laced-up ankle boots in a palette of olive green, navy and bold yellow. Despite other less formal garments, like botanical prints or a neon smiley t-shirt, Sauvage’s signature tailoring dominated the line, with slim-cut two-piece suits in different prints and colours.

Drawing inspiration from his Ghanaian roots, Adrian Sauvage likes to combine his history with British references to subcultures, mods and punks. Picture by Daniel Sims BFC

Sauvage's collection featured skinny suits, bright bold colours and laced-up ankle boots in a palette of olive green, navy and bold yellow. Picture by Daniel Sims BFC

The Topman collection took us back to the 70’s with psychedelic hippy prints followed by 90’s Britpop style, reflected in silhouettes, patterns and graphics presented on the runway. Showcasing a mixture of looks from the two eras, the collection featured flared faded jeans and parkas trimmed with pink fur. Topman's creative director, Gordon Richardson, said: “There was Brit Pop at one end and Woodstock at another".

The collection was bursting with bright colours and bold prints with ’70s silk shirts mixed with flare-bottomed, loose-fitting jeans. The retro style was further enhanced with bright daisy prints, Paisley and pinstripe patterns. The key looks seen on the catwalk include suede jackets with fringes, cropped spread collar shirts, beads, mock turtlenecks in a palette of pastels. The show combined a 3D scanner and a soundtrack of Blur’s Girls and Boys creating a collision of periods. It may not all translate to the street, but the show was certainly eye catching and innovative.

The Topman collection took us back to the 70’s with psychedelic hippy prints followed by 90’s Britpop style, reflected in the silhouettes, patterns and graphics presented on the runway. Picture by Kensington Leverne BFC 

Showcasing a mixture of looks from the '70s and '90s, the Topman collection featured flared faded jeans and parkas trimmed with pink fur. Creative director, Gordon Richardson, said:  “There was Brit Pop at one end and Woodstock at another". Picture by Kensington Leverne BFC 

 Bursting with bright colors and bold prints, Gordon Richardson mixed ’70s silk shirts with flare-bottomed, loose-fitting jeans. The retro style was further enhanced with bright daisy prints, Paisley and pinstripe patterns. Picture by Kensington Leverne BFC 

Burberry Prorsum’s creative director, Christopher Bailey, created a wardrobe inspired by novelist and travel writer Bruce Chatwin. A colour palette that was dark and rich with a hint of decadence in bottle green, rich teal and deep purple were the themes in the new book cover collection. Denim jackets were alongside sharp suiting and colourful sneakers teamed with floppy hats and satchels.

Velvets and suedes were paired with light linens in matching tones, trench coats and double-breasted suits were worn shirtless emphasising the Chatwin inspiration. At the end of the show every model carried a Burberry-bound artist's sketchbook. It was very British, elegant and the purest expression of Burberry seen in recent seasons.

Burberry Prorsum’s creative director, Christopher Bailey, created a wardrobe inspired by novelist and travel writer Bruce Chatwin.Velvets and suedes were paired with light linens in matching tones, trench coats and double-breasted suits were worn shirtless. Picture by Sam Wilson BFC

At the end of the show every model carried a Burberry-bound artist's sketchbook. It was very British, elegant and the purest expression of the fashion house seen in recent seasons. Picture by Sam Wilson BFC

From the Burberry open-air show in the sunshine to Tiger of Sweden’s dark, industrial setting for their new collection. The leading menswear brand from the wonderfully stylish northern nation hosted their first collection outside of Stockholm, with some of the best dressed Londoners taking front row seats. Uber male model David Gandy was at the shows as London men's fashion week ambassador.

Tiger of Sweden’s collection was inspired by cult American movie The Warriors which looks at the gang scene in New York City. Design director Ronnie McDonald explained that his idea was to create a Tiger gang wearing sharp suits combined with sporty elements. This idea was reflected in the combination of rock’n’roll attitude and rough elegance.

The collections showcased what Tiger do so well: slim-cut tailoring, smart and modern, uncomplicated two-piece suits, dotted with touches of more relaxed, adventurous detail such as contrast-sleeved bomber jackets, tailored pinstripes and splotch prints. Along with the signature suit, was also a new shape - a more over sized and elongated design. The main colours were inspired by the night: blacks, charcoals and shades of greys along with touches of teal and rust. There were also references to the street art and graffiti that’s native to New York City.

Tiger of Sweden’s collection was inspired by cult American movie The Warriors which looks at the gang scene in New York City. Design director Ronnie McDonald explained that his idea was to create a Tiger gang wearing sharp suits combined with sporty elements. Picture by Kensington Leverne BFC 

The collections showcased what Tiger do so well: slim-cut tailoring, smart and modern, uncomplicated two-piece suits, dotted with touches of more relaxed, adventurous detail such as contrast-sleeved bomber jackets, tailored pinstripes and splotch prints. Picture by Kensington Leverne BFC 

Design Miami/Basel 2014: Prologue by Fredrikson Stallard

Designers Patrik Fredrikson and Ian Stallard with their monumental new installation created from Swarovski crystals and raw steel: "It is like a giant lens which refracts light with an incredible intensity."

Design Miami/Basel opened this week in Switzerland, bringing together designers, curators, critics and collectors from around the world. This year, avant-guarde British designers Fredrikson Stallard have created a colossal installation glimmering with luminous, golden crystals,  Jeanne-Marie Cilento writes. Photographs by James Harris

PATRIK Fredrikson and Ian Stallard's monumental new sculpture called Prologue is made of glinting crystals forming a circular design like a shining sun that represents life and rebirth. Eight thousand crystal droplets gently sway within a thick, steel frame suspended from an industrial beam. The designers were commissioned by Swarovski to create the work, building on their collaboration with the contemporary design-focused Austrian company that has produced crystals for five generations.

"Our work with Swarovski is based on a shared understanding of concept, material and form. Prologue explores this with the pure simplicity of its circular structure, creating a giant lens which refracts light with an incredible intensity," says Patrik Fredrikson.

The installation contrasts heavy, raw steel with light, sparkling precision cut crystals in different shades. Passionate about art and design, Nadja Swarovski believes Fredrikson Stallard are among the most talented designers working today. "Prologue is a glowing symbol of life, and its power lies in its scale. Its compelling presence draws the viewer closer, allowing us to feel a primeval connection with the sun."

Nadja Swarovski has commissioned both emerging and established artists and designers from all over the world to create experimental new works using crystal as an artistic medium. In the past 10 years, she has collaborated with designers and architects including Ron Arad, Tom Dixon, Arik Levy, Yves Behar, Ross Lovegrove and Tord Boontje. Recent projects include Perspectives by British minimalist John Pawson at the Venice Biennale and Prima by Zaha Hadid at the Vitra Design Museum in Germany last year.

Fredrikson and Stallard began their collaboration in 1995 and have since become well known for their cutting edge work. Their pieces have been acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the French National Art Collection, and shown at the Design Museum and the Museum of Art and Design in New York.

The designers have collaborated with Swarovski on various projects and this is the second time they have created a large-scale installation with the company for Design Miami/Basel. The designers also worked with Swarovski creating pieces exhibited at Milan’s Salone del Mobile, the Atelier Swarovski Autumn/Winter 2013 jewelry collection as well as the 2013 British Film Awards trophy.

Design Miami/Basel runs from the 17–22 June 2014, Hall 1 Süd, Messe Basel, Switzerland. For more information visit: www.designmiami.com

Click on photographs for full-screen slideshow

The two designers with Nadja Swarovski survey the completed installation of golden crystals and raw steel. "Our work with Swarovski is based on a shared understanding of concept, material and form. Prologue explores this with the pure simplicity of its circular structure," says Patrik Fredrikson.

Patrik Fredrikson works on the installation attaching the crystals by hand. The installation contrasts heavy steel with light, sparkling precision cut crystals in different shades.

Designer Ian Stallard begins the long task of attaching 8,000 crystals to the steel structure.

The designers were commissioned by Swarovski to create the work, building on their collaboration with the design-focused Austrian company that has produced crystals for five generations.

Fredrikson and Stallard began their collaboration in 1995 and have since become well known for their cutting edge work.  Pieces have been acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the French National Art Collection and shown at the Museum of Art and Design in New York.

 "Prologue is a glowing symbol of life, and its power lies in its scale. Its compelling presence draws the viewer closer, allowing us to feel a primeval connection with the sun," says Nadja Swarovski

Nadja Swarovski has commissioned both emerging and established artists and designers from all over the world to create experimental new works using crystal as the artistic medium.

The designers have collaborated with Swarovski on various projects and this is the second time they have created a large-scale installation with the company for Design Miami/Basel.

The designers also worked with Swarovski creating pieces exhibited at Milan’s Salone del Mobile, the Atelier Swarovski Autumn/Winter 2013 jewelry collection as well as the 2013 British Film Awards trophy. 

Eight thousand crystal droplets gently sway within in a thick, steel frame suspended from an industrial beam. 

Prologue can be seen at Design Miami/Basel which runs from the17–22 June 2014, Hall 1 Süd, Messe Basel, Switzerland.

A computer rendering of the design of Prologue showing it's scale and the enormous steel disc suspended from above.

Passionate about art and design, Nadja Swarovski believes Fredrikson Stallard are among the most talented designers working today.