RED LARGE GLASS CAGE

This majestic red glass object originates from a glass-blowing project, by Gala Fernandez, realised with the skilled glass-blowers of acclaimed glass manufacturer NOUVEL Studio in México City. The liquid glass is blown into various shaped and sized birdcages serving as the moulds for this process. Once the housings for colourful birds, the cages have transcended into objects, containers, vases or vessels, new life has literally been blown into them. The objects are a result of the interaction of the hot fluid glass with the moulds. The colour and crystal quality of the glass is remarkable and highly rated, as are the skills of the glass-blowers.
The project questions the status of confinement versus refuge. A cage can be conceived as imprisonment or a cosy shelter for comfort. The glass works subtly capture this essence of limitation, protection and custody in an imaginative fashion. Gala Fernández is a Spanish designer now living and working in Milan. Born in Madrid, Gala holds a degree in art and design from the faculty of Fine Art at the University Complutense in Madrid (1987-1992), a Master degree in Industrial Design from the European Institute of Design in Milan (1994) and a Master in Product Design from the European Institute in Madrid.
Distinctive glass company Nouvel Studio is famous for its high quality coloured and crystal-like glass. The firm - under the direction of creative visionary Michael Kramer - has done unprecedented work in collaborating with the most prolific established and emerging mexican architects, designers and artists. There are very high artisanal and craft skills required to blow those pieces. The metal and the glass have a different heat and cool-down performance which creates a friction that can easily result in the braking of the glass during the process.