![\"Carmen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/friedman-benda-dapollonio-its-all-a-big-mystery-and-its-good-to-be-here-exhibition-designboom-01.jpg\")
Carmen D\u2019Apollonio debuts new illuminated sculptures at Friedman Benda | image \u00a9 Friedman Benda<\/p>\n
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carmen d\u2019apollonio sculpts with light, clay and glass<\/p>\n
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Carmen D\u2019Apollonio\u2019s new work, currently on view at Friedman Benda, pushes further into material experimentation. The artist<\/a>\u2018s ceramic bases still bear the slight irregularities of hand-building, but this exhibition introduces sculpted glass shades that catch and scatter light in unexpected patterns. It was noted at the gallery<\/a> that each glass element required custom molds and weeks of slow cooling, a process that gives the finished pieces their distinctive clarity and weight. Together, clay and glass create a dialogue between opacity and transparency that unfolds with every step a visitor takes.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n On the whole, the installation is like a silent performance. Lamps lean into walls, sprawl across pedestals, or hover from the ceiling, their silhouettes casting shifting reflections across the concrete floor. One piece, \u2018Again I go unnoticed\u2019, bends outward as if caught mid-breath, while the glass shade of \u2018It\u2019s All a Big Mystery\u2019 refracts light into soft edges that draw the eye beyond the fixture itself. The effect is intimate rather than theatrical, encouraging slow looking and a sense of shared presence with the objects.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n language and emotional presence<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Language is another material in D\u2019Apollonio\u2019s practice. Works titled \u2018Why fall in love when you can\u2019t fall asleep\u2019 or \u2018If you ever have forever\u2019 offer flashes of humor and vulnerability, small confidences that meet the viewer halfway. \u2018I like when a lamp feels like it\u2019s talking to you,\u2019 she says, her comment emphasizing how these pieces bridge function and personality.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Despite their sculptural energy, the lamps remain practical. The team at Friedman Benda notes that the bases and shades can easily be mixed and matched, and that the artist\u2019s LA studio is filled with variations. Meanwhile, the wiring is discreet, and the switches are hidden but accessible. Their presence reminds us of the functional opportunities for such whimsical works of art and design.<\/p>\n![\"carmen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/friedman-benda-dapollonio-its-all-a-big-mystery-and-its-good-to-be-here-exhibition-designboom-017.jp.jpeg\")
image courtesy Friedman Benda<\/p>\n![\"carmen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/friedman-benda-dapollonio-its-all-a-big-mystery-and-its-good-to-be-here-exhibition-designboom-016.jp.jpeg\")
image courtesy Friedman Benda<\/p>\n![\"Carmen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/friedman-benda-dapollonio-its-all-a-big-mystery-and-its-good-to-be-here-exhibition-designboom-02.jpg\")
the exhibition introduces sculpted glass shades and hand-built ceramic bases | image \u00a9 designboom<\/p>\n![\"Carmen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/friedman-benda-dapollonio-its-all-a-big-mystery-and-its-good-to-be-here-exhibition-designboom-03.jpg\")
image \u00a9 designboom<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u2018Salut, \u00c7a va, c\u2019est moi\u2019 glows at friedman benda \u00a0 Salut, \u00c7a va, c\u2019est moi opened this week…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":138267,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,64444,64445,10552,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-138266","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-design","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-friedman-benda","14":"tag-lighting-design","15":"tag-sculpture","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138266\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}