Mirrors are no longer just the looking glass of princess stories anymore. Today, mirrors are art.
Artists like Mathias Kiss are thinking outside the frame. He crafts really stunning sculptural pieces from colored mirror in an almost pop art configuration. In a very amusing twist on a theme, Kiss has even created a series of mirrorless, deconstructed frames.
Christophe Gaignon’s pieces are reflective, yes. But they are so much more than that.
Looking into them feels like you are seeing deeply into the iris of an all-seeing eye. Gaignon works with both concave and convex mirrors to create shape-shifting depth, and his colors range from black to cerulean to acid yellow. This one we used in a client’s living room initially appears to be a smoky neutral, but up close it is layered with bronze, gold, and even deep amethyst tones.
Remember fun house mirrors? The new designs in reflective glass can trick the eye and create unexpected images within an image, too.
The incredible mirrors from Bower Studios have an architectural element to them, and some even create the illusion of a window. The way they use colored glass to create an arch or molding is ingenious.
Mirror designs are now bolder than ever.Here we created a dramatic vignette in a client’s entry by hanging a pair of huge, heavily fringed pieces over much more contemporary benches. The contrast in textures makes for a playful change from more typical wall art.
To create a big impact, try layering art and mirrors with one another. The large scale and cool shape of this West Elm floor mirror is the perfect foil for abstract paintings. It becomes one more piece of art in the overall scheme and is a great way to bring smaller groupings together.
Here, a vintage French mirror takes center stage layered over wallcovering and framed by custom drapery. The mirror becomes a charming focal for the vignette and has a dimensionality that is more interesting than a painting might.
Mirrored walls are beautifully sparkly in their own right, but I love them across from big windows to reflect the light around a space. It’s almost like two pieces of art in one! Bright and fresh during the day, this space becomes moody and glowing at night.
