Shimmer Collection by Patricia Urquiola: colorful fluidity in robust glass products

Launched at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, Urquiola’s Shimmer collection is made of glass products that are coated in a finish that reflects different colours depending on the vantage point. It is brilliant in both its concept and physicality.

“If you’re working in tableware or little items, it can be very interesting,” said Urquiola. “When you’re working in typologies like tables, bookcases, any other typologies for the house, it’s really a material that’s not for me.”

Made from iridescent glass with a multicolored finish, the small tripodal table reacts with light, which allows its surface to seemingly change hue depending on your vantage point.

The graceful shifts in color lend it a balletic energy, and the lack of construction materials (the parts are joined with glue) keeps the focus on its prismatic effects.

The tables, consoles and shelves designed for Glas Italia transform themselves when exposed to various light sources or when viewed from a variety of angles.

Refracted hues and tones in these glass products give the impression of transparency and density, changing based on the viewing position.

Each unit of this glass furniture collection is constructed from laminated glass glued together at intersecting planes, which causes their profiles and compositions to change drastically when seen from different perspectives.

The shelf, for example, appears to intersect, yet is actually formed by individually glued parts.

The ‘shimmer’ series features rounded corners both with curved bases for tables and semi-circular shapes for shelf edges. Among her glass products, Urquiola has also created a set of mirrors to accompany the Shimmer range.

Coated in the same multichromatic finish, the pieces reflect subtle color gradients across their rounded surfaces. All the pieces are also available in opaque or transparent glass, or with a micro-dot decorative pattern