Photos: Santi Caleca

Not often does one walk into a gallery, where lighting is art, instead of a functional medium that serves to illuminate. However, that is the case for The Flos Gallery, presented at this year’s Euroluce – Salone del Mobile.

The new lighting created by design veterans: Michael Anastassiades, Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Antonio Citterio, Piero Lissoni, Jasper Morrison, Philippe Starck and Patricia Urquiola for Flos were presented in the format of a mega gallery conceptualised by designer and artist Ron Gilad.

Pushing the common perimeters of product presentation to the effect of an exhibition, each lighting was looked upon as an art piece, thoughtfully treated in placement, orientation and flow. Walking through the Gallery, a poetic vision unfolds in layers, as new pieces are revealed.

A designer himself, Gilad is known for his conceptual approach that borders the realms of art and design. Besides designing for Molteni&C, Moooi and Flos itself, Gilad’s past solo exhibitions demonstrate his curatorial strengths, as well as his ability to look beyond a product, but how the story behind the product is being told.

Spanning over 1,000 square metres, The Flos Gallery is, in fact, a three dimensional expression of Flos’s artistic vision. Each design ‘sculpture’ bridge commercial and artistic worlds with the ability to function, illuminate and entice.

The exhibition flow arrives at its peak as the main Gallery leads to the Sculpture Garden – a theatrical installation of artificial magic trees, each specifically designed and produced by Gilad for the transient Gallery. The Garden celebrates the entry of leading Italian architectural outdoor lighting manufacturer, Ares, into the Flos Group.

“…It is a rare thing for me to not present a piece of my own but rather to cater the needs of other designers, to be in a place where I put my ego aside and do the utmost to respect my colleagues and put them ‘on a pedestal’. Clearly it is not an easy job, but my personal obsession with symmetry and irony can be seen in the installation, which means that in an unorthodox way I have allowed my spirit to be present in this space as well,” says Gilad in his artist statement.

Flos is carried in Singapore by Space Furniture.

Ron Gilad
rongilad.com