Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec

Galerie kreo, Paris
Acquired from the above by the present owners, 2011

Anniina Koivu, Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec: Works, London, 2012, pp. 223, 225, 227 and 300
Clémence and Didier Krzentowski, The Complete Designer's Lights II, Zürich, 2014, pp. 388-391

Typically focused on industrial design for possibilities of unlimited production, Paris based designers Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec have worked with Galerie kreo to design more experimental and unconstrained objects that are produced in limited editions. Of this process, the Bouroullec brothers claim they are “free from the constraints imposed by industry, the norms, weight, size or other issues more or less justified by mass production. Here, we give ourselves the time to explore different media and extraordinary techniques that are rejected by industry, to approach unique skills.”

In 2010, the Bouroullecs introduced three different designs through Galerie kreo, each offered in multiple figurations and produced in limited editions: the Conque wall light, the Roches shelving unit, and the Lianes interconnected lamps. This particular “Lianes 15” configuration is the largest and most complex available, comprising five sets of three pendants for a total of fifteen lamps. The Bouroullecs’ aimed to interrelate all components of a hanging lamp in one unifying design while emulating a sense of mystery and sensuality. Their solution was to use leather for the cables, the fixation points and the lampshades. Each pendant is adjustable and the stitching and shape of the tie points of the cables creates a natural brake for holding their height and orientation.

This “Lianes 15” showcases, through a remarkably sculptural lighting installation, the Bouroullecs’ attention to detail, interest in usability and dedication to design excellence.