A Crystalized Dream by Arik Levy: Osmosis.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” -Albert Einstein

Since my involvement with Swarovski Crystal Palace in 2006, each I have been privileged to attend the launch of its exhibitions during Design Miami/Art Basel and Salone Internazionale Del Mobile in Milan.

Even before launching my design piece Unity Rings, Swarovski was the exhibition I always observed, and it was always a means of inspiration. (The year my design piece launched, along with other international designers’ pieces, the party was the hottest ticket in town, reported by the Financial Times the next day.) This year was no exception. I could not stay away from their exhibition at Salone Internazionale Del Mobile. The event was top priority on my show list, and I took my pilgrimage with eagerness.

This year Nadja Swarovski collaborated with Arik Levy on “Osmosis.” Levy explains how he arrived to name the work Osmosis: “I have moved Crystal Palace from chandeliers to light, and that is dramatically different in approach. This is why I have called the installation Osmosis—because it expresses the notion of movement in order to achieve a new balance.”

As a visitor, I was able to walk through tactile bodies and a variety of mediums translated into diverse scales. For example, there was an 80-foot-long Tai Ping carpet attached to large frame structures. Whether one understands the osmosis, or the science of crystals, it was an inspiring journey very close to the one Alice might have taken through the looking glass. Consistently, Swarovski pioneers to feature a highly conceptual design installation at the Zona Tortona. This is the reason why a stroll down to the Tortona exhibits is highly anticipated. I know a higher level of design will be present, very much dissimilar from the Rho exhibit.

As a designer, I was thrilled to collaborate with a company like Swarovski. Their willingness to proceed with design experiments is an achievement in itself, and the result: inspiring and educating viewers. Particularly when we are suffering with global economics, designers are encouraged to become better creative arbitrators. After seeing Swarovski’s exhibition, I am totally recharged to focus on my talent in order to provide a higher quality of creative results.

Top image courtesy of D.B. Kim; additional images courtesy of Swarovski.