Gweilo is a new collection of custom lights by PARTISANS. Inspired by the idea that light itself could be harnessed and manipulated to create a physical sculpture, PARTISANS developed a design that alters light at its source. Gweilo reimagines illumination to architectural effect.
As spectral sculptures that fold and bend like light rays themselves, the pieces function as accents, dividers, or centerpieces, gracefully delineating space to create an
ethereal atmosphere.
Each Gweilo light is handmade using thermoforming, a technique that allows etched optical grade acrylic sheets to be custom-shaped while they are still in their hot plastic
state. The sheets are heated to just under 400°C, at which point they become molten and pliable. They are immediately removed from the heat source and sculpted to produce a
variety of distinct folds and curves. When the metal extrusion containing an embedded LED strip is affxed to the cooled sheet’s edge, light is diffused across the etchings, amplifying the luminescent output. The result is an infnite set of silhouettes and sizes that emulate the vital movement of light.
Times Critics Talk About Their Year-End Lists
“…I am almost more interested in the paintings I didn’t get! I wish I could do a small photo exhibition of all the works that we failed to get. Of the early titans, we have two important ones, Giotto and Cimabue, but we don’t have Duccio, the third master of the birth of painting in Europe, if I may say. There was one in the Stoclet collection in Brussels, that we were following through dealer friends, but finally it was purchased by the Met. Also Velázquez, our biggest weakness!”
Boomers Daily 