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Mexican architect Adrian Cruz has fused together his architectural knowledge and creative experiences with resin art in his captivating crystal resin and onyx lighting collection dubbed Elements. Produced within his Belgium-based eponymous studio, Cruz’s work is largely informed by his childhood experiences playing with resin objects made by his grandfather in Mexico City.

As a child, Cruz was wonderstruck by the translucency and the three-dimensional illusion created by light when it moves through resin – these fond memories fostered a passion which transitioned into a career after his architectural education. He describes his practice almost as an homage to his grandfather, Chema, with each individual piece provoking a discovery of something new about his past.

The ‘Elements’ Collection is a playful and energetic exploration of colour, shape and material which reflects the relationship between Cruz’s architectural knowledge and his Mexican heritage.

Rotonda is inspired by the simplicity of renaissance villa floor plans, distilling an appreciation for their symmetrical beauty into his design. Two plates of crystal resin, one purple and another blue, perform a weightless balancing act holding up the glowing sphere that houses a lightbulb. From each angle the object unfolds a new facet, its front creating the perception of a solid body while its side bares its delicate construction. A bright green snaking wire becomes the only opaque element – usually a merely practical nuisance that’s often hidden, in this instance acting as the main source of visual interest.

Related: Highlights From Collectible Design Fair 2020 in Brussels.

‘Tallo’ is an object inspired by the thallus of a flower, its body acting as a celebration of the cable that brings energy to the light bulb which sits like delicate petals at its top. The orange thallus radiates a warm glow, its simple cylindrical shape creating an elongated sculptural piece, so special we would never want to turn it off. The pedestal, sculpted out of Mexican onyx, features deep orange veins that bleed across its watercolour grey rings. The solidness of its pedestal acts as a counterbalance to the rest of its delicate form which exudes a sense of weightlessness.

Cruz describes ‘Bulbe’ as the “fundamental piece of the collection”, featuring a unique light bulb made entirely out of crystal resin with a concavity that captures the movement and lightness of the material. Each glowing orb is one-of-a-kind, shaped by a mould, cast and excavated to make an aethereal sculpture from resin. The soft curves central to the collection are contrasted by heavy rectilinear forms, generating glorious and unique light pieces we can’t help but lust over.

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