Mirrors are one of those curious objects that can complete a room. Part art work, part optical illusion, a mirror alters the visual perception of a room and delivers a unique reflection of your interior. While they are as old as the hills (6000 years before Christ to be exact) they can be interpreted in very contemporary ways.
Design daily has shown a number of images from Matter Made's installation at 5 Vie in Milan in past posts but I felt compelled to include a more detailed shot of their lovely 'Abal' mirrors. The combination of copper and silver mirror with a blackened metal frame adds a further layer to the altered reality that mirrors reflect.
Bower is a New York studio founded by Danny Giannella and Tammer Hijazi in 2013. The studio works across a variety of disciplines and produces many of their designs in house in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York. The mirrors 'Slump' (left) and 'Bump' (right) were a new addition to their body of work on show at ICFF NYCxDESIGN 2017 along with a highly acclaimed lighting range called 'C'. The mirrors represent the studios interest in subverting otherwise conventional objects through playful gestures.
The 'Drift' mirror shown below is not new for 2017 - it was released in May 2016 but is such a striking design that it was deemed worthy of inclusion in this round-up. The designer, New York based Fernando Mastrangelo was inspired by the volcanic eruptions of Mount Etna.
Venetian company Mingardo specialise in hand made metal furniture but this year branched out into accessories for the home such as candle holders, trays and the lovely 'Ilario' pivoting mirror seen below. The design is made from solid brass and iron and was designed by Federica Biasi.
Milan based designer Cristina Celestino has come into her own since being commissioned by Fendi to present a collection at Design Miami last year. Working across all sorts of products from glass table ware to terracotta tiles and lights and furniture, she has also designed a soft coloured all glass mirror for Tonelli. 'Opalina' features an asymmetric opaline glass frame that sets off the precision of its central circular mirror.
Studio Job are renowned for their unusual concepts - whether designer furniture, lights or wallpaper. For their debut design for Brescia based metal casting company Ghidini1961 they came up with the idea of incorporating a mirror into the base of a polished brass frying pan. To the right is a design by Pietro Russo for Galotti & Radice called 'Selene' that features a solid Nero Marquina marble base and a led light rim.
Following the current trend for brass and marble, the by Lara Bohinc takes a circle and displaces it to create a dynamic piece of wall art, the 'Half Moon' mirror. The jewellery designer's work for stone specialist Lapicida was shown at this years Milan fair within the 5 Vie district as part of the Ladies & Gentleman exhibition.
A very recent edition to the mirrors category are the 'Scena' mirrors shown below design by Nikolai Kotlarczyk for Portego. The mirrors utilise ancient techniques to engrave and silver the glass and are made in the glass blowing island of Murano off the coast of Venice. The mirrors are made up of a number of smaller parts to create the finished product. Highly decorative they resemble some sort of tribal head dress but with a certain deco flare.