Crystal light panels and two perfume flacons in limited editions
The first time the American artist James Turrell has collaborated on works that are not large-scale, immersive, or in situ
The collaboration sees the first scent ever co-created by an artist for Lalique
Lalique unveiled a new collaboration with American artist James Turrell (at Paris+ Art Basel) who is famed for working with light and space to create artworks that engage viewers with the limits and wonder of human perception.
It is the first time the celebrated light artist worked on small scale pieces. This unique coming together of two ‘artists of light’ is the result of over four years of close collaboration. It comes at a time when Lalique celebrates its Alsatian factory’s 100-year Anniversary.
The collaboration, which consists of 42 crystal light panels and two perfume bottles, each in a limited edition of 100.
James Turrell began the collaboration by designing the two perfume bottles. Fascinated by Egypt and the stupa shapes found in Asia, Turrell used their architectural structure, monuments of high spiritual value in which light plays an essential role, as inspiration.
Combining artistic and olfactory sensibilities, the two flacons Range Rider and Purple Sage are inspired by Zane Grey’s ‘Riders of the Purple Sage’ and the artist’s desire to recreate the beauty of the American West. The striking result: prisms that diffuse and diffract the light. Entirely handmade, the design presented a major challenge for the Lalique artisans – obtaining crystal of a uniform thickness, to ensure the correct density of colour and homogeneity.
Working closely with Lalique’s perfumers, the collaboration also sees the first scent ever co-created by an artist for Lalique. A first scent, Range Rider, captures the natural fragrances of the artist’s land, Arizona, including sage-scratched leather chaps, pepper, amber, and citrus. It is an olfactory architecture that speaks of sun-drenched Western ranching.
A second scent, Purple Sage, named after this delicate, queen of plants that blooms in Arizona, offers a different interpretation of Turrell’s relationship with the American West, undulating between delicacy and strength. The bottle, with its soft curves, is a tribute to the eternal feminine form. The perfume has a delicately fruity, musky scent, revealing notes of purple sage, mandarin, grapefruit, and rhubarb.
The 42 light panels, named Crystal Light, are inspired by an image of James Turrell’s Aten Reign installation, exhibited at the Guggenheim in 2013. Originally planned in colours, the panel was finally produced in clear crystal. The rippling colours were then produced using a screen placed behind the work. The design offers a hypnotic visual effect between the third and second dimension – similar to a trompe l’oeil, with intriguing depth.