Smoke and Mirrors: Maison Gerard presents timeless glassworks with Kiko López

“I am looking for some kind of spiritual dreamlike space where the observer can lose himself and their mood will make the experience particularly personal,” says Kiko López, a glass artist, who embodies an artist’s sensibilities and the design approach of a skilled craftsman. The Puerto Rican artist based in Miami, Florida is currently showcasing his eclectic artworks and functional furniture pieces designed using glass and crystals at the Maison Gerard in New York City, United States. Kiko López: Smoke and Mirrors has been on view since October 15, 2022, and will be on display till November 15, 2022. As a part of the solo exhibition, Lopez adopts French glass engraving technique verre églomisé to his own techniques, to present a timeless collection of glassworks that accentuate the reflective material into well-sculpted artworks.

While his work is deeply rooted in tradition, it is also influenced by giants of the abstract art world such as Irish-American artist Sean Scully, American artist Mark Rothko, and South Korean artist Yun Hyong-Keun. He has spent the last twelve years creating tableau mirrors, or 'shadow drawings' by manipulating applications of fluid, silver mixtures of glass to create reflective surfaces enriched with gradually changing shadows, colours, and patina-like impressions. He frequently treats the patina with coffee or cigarette ash, adding a unique and modern touch to his work. The painstaking technique of manipulating reflective surfaces into decorative artworks results not just in ornamented mirrors, but also sculptural tables, sconces, screens, mantels, partitions and even an entire wall. “I am very interested in the way that these compositions interact with their environment as they are reflective and create movement in the space the observer finds himself in,” says López.

López’s glass works are a creative mix of modern techniques and age-old craftwork and his crystal lighting and tabletops exude opulence. Most of his crystal works are produced in the Czech Republic" and commissioned across the world. As part of the exhibition, the glass artist has managed to create an otherworldly experience with his Oracle series of concave disks with distorted reflections and the Monolith series of mirrors and wall sconces. The exhibition also features some of the artist’s largest work to date, including a mosaic screen inspired in part by Le Corbusier's Unité d’Habitation housing in Marseilles as well as the Vesuvius series of several crystal-top tables patterned with volcanic eruptions .

Kiko López is among the handful of artists who utilise the 18th-century technique of hand-silvering to create aesthetically appealing mirror works. For Maison Gerard, the Puerto Rican artist has also presented Les 100, a large square mirrored composition, created using 100 fragments of interlocking rectangular blue glasses. The overall aesthetic of the glass piece demonstrates Lopez's mastery over the nearly extinct techniques to produce distinctive, contemporary objects.

Established in 1974 by Gerardus A. Widdershoven, Maison Gerard has cemented itself as an iconic art and design gallery that fosters creativity by promoting both upcoming and established designers. A refreshing source of French art deco furniture, lighting solutions and objective artworks, the gallery is home to important works of Jean-Michel Frank, Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Maison Leleu and also hosts numerous private and public collections.

The exhibition Kiko López : Smoke and Mirrors will be on display at the Maison Gerard, New York, from October 15, 2022 till November 15, 2022