Roberto Rida and Simone Crestani: Gilt Bronze Hubble Bubble Mirror, Italy 2019

Roberto Rida (b. 1943) and Simone Crestani (b. 1984)

An exceptional hand-made mirror by modern master Roberto Rida and virtuoso glass artist Simone Crestani. A round, lustrous gilt bronze frame by Rida, segmented into deep panels with decorative cloutage, cradles Simone’s delicate blown glass droplets, encrusted like air bubbles rising from the ocean floor. Marrying the fragility of crystal with the strength of bronze, Rida and Crestani highlight the contrast between the materials “as well as the harmony they can reach together,” as Crestani says. A collaboration between two masters of contemporary Italian design, the Hubble Bubble mirror transforms Crestani’s natural influences and the legacy of Fontana Arte, in which Rida is an expert, into a strikingly powerful yet gently oneiric work, avant-garde in its presentation and unrivaled in its craftsmanship and expressivity.

Piece unique, part of the Duetto series.