Massimo Uberti sculpts neon tubes into a room for Bentley
Design Miami 2014: Italian artist Massimo Uberti has bent neon tubes into the shape of a room for an installation commissioned by British motor company Bentley (+ slideshow).
Conceived by creative agency Campbell-Rey, Massimo Uberti's Light installation comprises a series of glass pipes that trace the outline of the edges and corners of a habitable space.
"I like to create architectures of light," said Uberti. "I employ neon tubes to build places for poetical inhabitants, trying to create dream-like spaces that allow for reflection."
The neon tubes also create a doorway into the room and a window frame that appears to hover in the centre of one of the walls.
A trestle table and an armchair – suggested using the same technique – occupy the room and are included to pay homage to Bentley's "handwork and human touch that goes into the creation of each vehicle", according to a statement from the company.
The illuminated installation in Miami Design District references the neon-lit vehicle audit bays at Bentley's manufacturing facility in Crewe, England, which Uberti visited prior to the design's conception.
The neon tubes for his artwork were hand-blown and bent in Miami before the piece was installed in a gallery space at 25 North-East 39th Street.
Light opened yesterday during this year's Design Miami event as the first in a series of installations titled Bentley Elements, and will remain in place until 4 December.
Bentley launched its own furniture line with a range of sofas, chairs and tables last year.