Feyza Kemahlioglu, founder of New York-based multidisciplinary design studio FEYZ Studio, recently unveiled her latest lighting design, Sunset Drive, at the Wexler Gallery during Design Miami/ 2021. Kemahlioglu looked to her native country of Istanbul’s architectural history and culture, an inspiration that can be seen in Sunset Drive’s materiality.
In addition to mirrored glass, Meerschaum, a solid clay mineral found and excavated in Eskisehir in central Turkey, is hand-carved by artisans who create flourishes, embellishments, and perforations in the clay. The clay portion of the pendants appear to be a solid whole piece, but upon closer examination, the light shines through and illuminates the floral and graphic patterns. To offset the intricate details, simple forms of sunset-hued mirrored glass cylinders and sandblasted glass globes emit a soft warm glow that further tells the tale behind Kemahlioglu’s design inspiration. She shares: “For my latest piece, I wanted to create a play of light and shadow. I had this picture of driving during the sunset, enjoying the cloud formations, when cars pass by and you see moments of the bright headlights of cars passing by. I wanted to create a collection of pendant lights that are meant to be experienced from different angles and distances.”
Photos by Galina Kurlat.
