“I will be your mirror,” promised German singer Nico in The Velvet Underground's song of the same name. While not everything the troubled singer says is worthy of emulation, art and design insiders have recently picked up on her pledge. At first glance, it's easy to see the appeal of harnessing the power of reflection.
This spring, TriBeCa's David Lewis Gallery exhibited the etched mirror works of the late John Boscovici. Created in the mid-'90s, his mirror works immerse the viewer in different scenarios. In one, the viewer is wearing a crown of thorns. In another, the viewer is staring down Medusa. Think of these mirrors as mirrors for uncomfortable rooms.
John Boscovich, Norm, 1996-97. Etched glass on mirror. 14 x 16 inches.
Courtesy of The Artists Foundation and David Lewis / Photo: Phoebe Doole
Elsewhere in New York, Carlito Carvalhosa's vibrant mirror canvases are on view at Nara Rosler, while at Bitforms, artist and technologist Daniel Rosin is pushing the boundaries of mirrors by imagining them in motorized, responsive forms.
Whether your tastes are avant-garde or more subdued, now may be the time to embrace the mind- and space-enhancing potential of mirrors. First, when decorating with mirrors, rethink the idea that they are only there to enhance the effect of sunlight in your home.
Carlito Carvalhosa, Untitled (P08/03), 2003. Oil, grease and resin on mirror.
Courtesy of The Artists Foundation and Nara Rosler
Or follow the example of interior designer David Nett, who uses historic surfaces to push the boundaries of architecture itself. In a ground-floor maisonette near Kensington Palace, Nett installed mirrors with faux cases where local building regulations prevented him from installing doors; another mirror makes an Egyptian-style fireplace appear to levitate. “Mirrors have a mysterious way of doing things,” Nett says. “When you put one up, you don't necessarily know what you're going to see, but you know something fascinating is going to happen.”
Clients sometimes think of Halston's gaudy Hall of Mirrors showroom in the Olympic Tower and worry about being too flashy. Nett recalls how Dorothy Draper placed mirrors simply in decorative frames reminiscent of moldings, maintaining the symmetry of a classic Georgian interior, or above a Hollywood Regency dressing table to give a little star power to a boudoir. Modernists might think of Richard Neutra, who installed mirrors on the entire top floor of his famous VDL House. “I think these modernist architects were very rational and strict, and had no thought of decadence at all,” Nett muses. “But Neutra saw an opportunity to double the lake view, and it was a glass house. Mirrors are just another form of glass.”