Apparatus Shows Act V: Afsaneh in New York, With GOL, ESFAND and an Incense

Apparatus, the New York lighting and furniture studio, is presenting Act V: Afsaneh in the city. It is the studio's first new collection in five years, and the New York show centers on the GOL and ESFAND series, with JAHAAN and RAHVI also on view. The same work can be seen at the studio's London space.

Afsaneh is the Persian word for fable and also the name of the mother of artistic director and co-founder Gabriel Hendifar. The collection unfolds in four series: Esfand, the seed, standing for the mother; Gol, the flower, which amplifies the seed; Rahvi, the serpent and collector of knowledge; and Jahaan, the cosmos, where all three are shared. Gol is the Persian word for flower, and the studio introduces it with the line "Beauty as a beacon for those who seek knowledge."

In Gol, cast-glass seeds sit inside large fiberglass shades that, depending on the angle, read as petals, jellyfish or octopuses. Hendifar describes it as the seed wrapped in beauty, both to protect it and to draw those meant to find it. The Rahvi amulets are made from seven semi-precious stones, among them tiger's eye, lapis lazuli and red jasper. Jahaan centers on the table, an image of community. Across the collection the materials include lacquer, brass, blown and cast glass, fiberglass, bronze and aluminum.

Scent is part of the presentation. The AFSANEH incense, with notes of damask rose, oud and frankincense, burns in both the New York and London spaces, and it can be ordered online. Hendifar calls the fragrance "moonlight in a desert rose garden."

The collection also comes with five short films made with the New York-based Martha Graham Dance Company, due for release on October 22. Apparatus was founded in 2012, designs in New York and makes its work at a dedicated factory in Brooklyn. It opened its first international space in Mayfair, London, in 2023 and plans a Miami opening in February.

(Details are drawn from points that agree across reports by Wallpaper*, WWD (via Yahoo).)