Bibliophiles who’ve dropped by Taschen’s outpost in Brussels may recall the joyful wall panels and luminaires inside. They’re made by Jorge Pardo, the Cuban-American artist whose foray into the intersection of design, painting, sculpture, and everyday objects has resulted in an enchanting oeuvre that stands out for its originality. “I’m interested in asking: Where is art supposed to stop?” Pardo told Surface in a 2019 conversation about L’Arlatan, a colorful French hotel replete with 500 of his own paintings and sculptures. “It’s almost impossible to control where that motion starts and stops.”
That’s precisely what compelled the German publisher to collaborate with Pardo on reissuing a limited-edition series of his fixtures, fittingly titled Brussels, that riff on the lamps found in its store there. Each piece is made from laser-cut, hand-painted PETG plastic discs carefully stacked to allow light to spread in different directions, creating a colorful sculpture when switched off and coming alive when light shines through. Whether a freestanding fixture or suspended pendant light, each reveals new dimensions to how Pardo dissolves the boundaries between art and design
