Kiko Lopez
Medium: Steel, crystal
Dimensions of top: Diameter: 20" - Depth: 2.4"
Kiko Lopez has always been captivated by depth in crystal, which, in the case of his extraordinary Vesuvius pieces, he achieves through a painstaking, unpredictable process of melting, annealing, and re-melting molded glass. The weeks of work this process necessitates all-too-often ends in disappointment: to align the visual the elements within the crystal in just the right way, Lopez has to return to the drawing board again and again.
When, however, he hits on the desired suspension, Lopez transforms “transparency into texture,” revealing the mysterious complexity of this finicky material. As he says, these works "recall the inferno in which they’re made, yet they’re smooth and cool to the touch. They link to the telluric forces of volcanoes and glaciers, while the design is fresh and contemporary. The longer you look at them, the deeper they seem to go."
