Welcome to the opening Spazio Nobile At Home, Winter Show featuring Laura Laine, Golden Hive

This installation is in dialogue with new collectible art and design works by Florence Coenraets, Kaspar Hamacher, Åsa Jungnelius, Laura Laine, Pao Hui Kao, Bela Silva, Fabian von Spreckelsen, Vera Vermeersch, Quentin Vuong,…

“The Dutch and Flemish Golden Age of still life paintings are often regarded in our time as just lavish displays of wealth and an access to rare and exclusive things. The works are seen as superficial shows of artistic tricks lacking any deeper meaning, and on the other hand the still-life sub-genre vanitas is often seen only through its characteristic symbolism.

Photo by Margaux Nieto, courtesy of Spazio Nobile

The works were often commissioned and there was a general trend of showing off – skill-wise for the artist and possession-wise for the client. However, I find it interesting how, despite the aim to depict the objects in a desirable and beautiful manner, they might become something a little grotesque. Another interesting aspect is how the artist’s intense aim to create such a realistic ‘trompe-l’œil’ depiction that covers with equal attention the entire surface of the painting gives it a very surreal quality rather than realistic.

Photo by Margaux Nieto, courtesy of Spazio Nobile

Also, the compositions are sometimes surreal and have some kind of accidental beauty to them; when an ambitious attempt of a composition in space does not really succeed, the objects in the painting seem as if they were suddenly hanging in the air,” states Laura Laine.

Photo by Margaux Nieto, courtesy of Spazio Nobile

“I was aiming for a richness in both shape and colour in these new works. I wanted a very maximalist look, so I have also used silvering to achieve gold and pearlescent effects. I always sketch as I plan for the sculptures. All the new work is made in Nuutajärvi in Finland (earlier Iittala glassworks). But I had Emil Kovac of Novy Bor (Czech Republic) who came to Finland and Josja Schepman ( Netherlands) who came to blow glass and whom I used to work with in my previous projects such as “Subtle Bodies” for Spazio Nobile.”

Photo by Margaux Nieto, courtesy of Spazio Nobile

Spazio Nobile At Home, Winter Show, featuring Laura Laine, Golden Hive, also includes new collectible art and design works by represented artists and designers Florence Coenraets, Kaspar Hamacher, Åsa Jungnelius, Pao Hui Kao, Laura Laine, Isaac Monté, Bela Silva,  Kiki van Eijk,Fabian von Spreckelsen, Vera Vermeersch, Quentin Vuong.

Photo by Margaux Nieto, courtesy of Spazio Nobile

Around the Finnish artist Laura Laine

Laura Laine (born 1983) studied fashion design at the University of Art and Design Helsinki and she received the Young Designer of the Year prize in 2011. She is a Helsinki based visual artist and illustrator with her own distinct and recognizable style. Recently ranked by The Illustrator (ed. by Taschen) as one of the 100 best illustrators from around the world, she has also been working with glass since 2013 in Finland, Netherlands and Czech Republic. Her work has been exhibited in multiple gallery and museum shows around the world, the latest being a large solo show at the Finnish Glass museum and a group show at the Asheville Art Museum in North-Carolina. In the past she has exhibited in Dubai, Tokyo, New York, the Netherlands, London, Los Angeles and Helsinki, among other locations. In her illustration work, she is particularly known for her surrealistic hand drawn female figures. Laine’s CV lists a great deal of work for international magazines and companies such as Vogue Japan, Vogue Italy, Vogue Germany, Givenchy, Elle, The New York Times, The Guardian, Harvey Nichols and Pantene. She is also collaborating frequently with Nick Knight’s SHOWstudio. She has received multiple awards for her work.

Spazio Nobile represents her since 2019 and has shown her Wet Collection glass sculptures who were revealed during her solo show at Designmuseo Helsinki in 2013. Spazio Nobile exhibited her glass works during Season XII- The Finnish Season, Keep Your Garden Alive, at Institut finlandais, Paris, at Révélations Biennial in Paris and in a solo show Subtle Bodies in 2019 followed by Unique Design Shanghai and the exhibition Call to the Wild (co-curated by Lise Coirier & Kati Laakso) at Maison Louis Carré within the iconic house designed by Alvar Aalto.