Spotlight: Nature Fuses With Futurism in Dominick Leuci’s Newest LED Sculptures

What You Need to Know: Dominick Leuci is an artist and designer whose work references both Romanticism and Modernism, but through a futuristic lens. His paintings and sculptures center on light and the many ways that it effects, and is affected by, context. In 2017, following a meeting with Todd Merrill of Todd Merrill Studio, Leuci proposed a collection of nature-inspired LED sculptures crafted using innovative materials and techniques. Recently, Leuci unveiled the newest designs from his “Eques” series. Harnessing his distinctive visual vocabulary and incorporating his concept of “Romodernism”—a synthesis of Art Nouveau, Romanticism, and Modernism—the pieces combine organic shapes with ultracontemporary design.

Why We Like It: In a word, Leuci’s “Eques” pieces are mesmerizing. Though the LEDs they are made with offer their own source of light, the inflated metal forms in mirror-polished stainless steel (occasionally with brass or 24-karat gold additions) capture and bend the ambient light around the piece, giving them an otherworldly aura. Some of the components evoke flower petals or leaves, an impression that Leuci often underscores with delicate, hand-applied pigments. Their static composition and unnaturally pristine surfaces, however, speak to their simultaneously futuristic aesthetic.

According to the Gallery: “Dominick Leuci’s inspiration for the “Eques Series” was derived from the mystical guise of sea dragons (). To protect themselves from predators, sea dragons have developed long, leaf-like protrusions as a method of camouflaging themselves. Despite being rigid in nature, their graceful, wing-like bodies have the ability to change color, appearing as flora, keeping them indistinguishable from seaweed as they move serenely through the water. Rendered in stainless steel, Leuci’s captivating forms maintain the sea dragon’s elegant look of suspension, movement, and buoyancy.”

See more works from Donimick Leuci’s “Eques” series below.

 

Find more of Dominick Leuci’s work at Todd Merrill Studio.