Kaleidoscopic acrylic furniture by Draga & Aurel demonstrates "power of refraction"
Industrial design studio Draga & Aurel has created Flare, a collection of retrofuturistic furniture made entirely out of multicoloured Lucite.
The Flare capsule collection features seven coffee tables and a totem-style sculpture in a range of vibrant hues.
Each piece of furniture was created out of sheets of Lucite – a patented version of acrylic resin that was developed in 1937 and is processed by hand.
Lake Como-based Draga & Aurel collaborated with local artisans to construct the multicoloured tables and the sculpture.
The furniture is characterised by chunky shapes, which "explore[s] the power of refraction," thanks to their bold angles, according to the studio.
Draga & Aurel founders Draga Obradovic and Aurel K Basedow, who are known for using epoxy resin in their projects, made the furniture out of sheets of varying colours, shapes and thicknesses. These were placed on top of each other and glued together.
Ranging from green, pink, orange and blue, the tables and the totem-like sculpture cast a kaleidoscope of bright hues that were informed by the work of artists Jiyong Lee and Vasa Mihich.
"The result is multifaceted objects that change from every angle and thoroughly express the concept of a flare, representing intuition, revelation and discovery," said Obradovic and Basedow.
Flare was created for New York City's Todd Merrill Studio – an art gallery in Lower Manhattan.
The collection takes cues from "minimalism's simplified volumes, retro-futuristic experimentation of space-age design and the eye-bending patterns of optical art," explained the gallery.
In 2019, Draga & Aurel's Agatha tables project was longlisted for a Dezeen Award.
Other recent furniture designs on Dezeen range from an alternative chair by three University of Gothenburg students that was created with a seat and backrest that serves as a planting bed for chia seeds to Tesammans, an IKEA collection by Dutch studio Raw Colour that aims to explore how our perception of a hue can change based on its context.
The photography is courtesy of Draga & Aurel.