Venice 2019 – Gallery FUMI joins NOMAD, the exclusive and nomadic design fair now held in the gothic Palazzo Soranzo van Axel in Venice, to showcase a collection of specially created works by Sam Orlando Miller. The series includes a chandelier, a console and a wall work, all made of hand-cut facets of jade green mirror and droplets of gold-bronze to reflect the splendor and timelessness of the Italian city.

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Considering the shifting luminosity of the seasons and the rhythmic passage of time, Miller has sculpted and played with reflected and artificial light. The highlight of the showcase is the spectacular chandelier Ghirlande di Lacrime Estive – ‘Garlands of Summer Tears’. “When making this work, I imagined ancient, sacred groves, darkened places lit up by the energy of hanging votive.”

Alongside the chandelier are also two works in shades of golden mirror: a sculptural console called Zattera dei Viandanti – ‘Raft of the Wayfarers’ – and the oval wall work Pianura del Lampo – ‘Plains of the Lightning’ -, perhaps conjuring the archaic landscape of Miller’s Spanish home.

‘I recalled the shock of lightening stepping through the hot air of a summer’s day, ascending and descending, connecting the earth. In the same memory was the sun’s radiating power caught and refracted in a myriad of raindrops beaded on golden grasses.” Says Miller.

London-based artist and designer Sam Orlando Miller is known for his poetic use of materials and his understanding of reflection. The new work developed for Gallery FUMI attempts to “release the fire from the bulb back into our sensual world”.

Gallery FUMI is a contemporary design gallery based in Mayfair, London, focusing on high-level, conceptually and aesthetically audacious contemporary designers and artists; each one encompassing the value of craftsmanship, traditional techniques and innovated new technologies. 

Photography: courtesy of Helen Underwood Miller for Gallery FUMI.