The White Gallery in Rome lives up to its name. The 54,000-square-foot lifestyle store offers high-end apparel, accessories and other goods in a series of “white box” spaces that feature open floor plans and double-height ceilings. Adding to the art gallery ambiance is the Fluxus, a wavering Murano glass sculpture that hangs from the store’s ceiling.
The Fluxus is a creation of Karim Rashid, who designed the sculpture’s individual, hand-made glass elements (known as the “Knit”), and Michela Vianello, art director for Andromeda Intl., a Venice-based lighting designer/manufacturer.
“White Gallery is a place conceived for the senses,” says Vianello. “The idea is all about easy living in a less conventional place where shopping is an experience.”
The Fluxus contributes to that unconventional environment with its 80,000 handmade glass “knit” elements, which are spread out over a surface area of just under 650 square feet. The undulating glass-and-steel sculpture, which weights more 13,000 pounds, consists of mirrored, laser cut metal tracks equipped with cross-beams to which the “Knit” elements are anchored. The end result, Rashid says, is a sculpture that helps create a retail environment that’s “dynamic, luxurious and inspiring.”