ANDREA CLAIRE STUDIO PRESENTS TOTEMIC AT ALCOVA (MDW26)

Images courtesy of Andrea Claire S.

Presenting a monumental sculptural lighting installation

At Milan Design Week 2026, Andrea Claire Studio makes a compelling international debut with Totemic, a monumental lighting installation unveiled at Alcova. Marking the studio’s first solo presentation outside the United States, the work positions lighting not merely as function, but as a sculptural and symbolic presence within space.

Conceived as “jewelry for space,” Totemic assembles luminous forms into a striking vertical composition that approaches architecture. Three distinct shade types—Moon, August, and Sage—are stacked in rhythmic succession, each evoking qualities of constancy, wisdom, and accumulated knowledge. Supported by slender brass armatures finished in gold and silver leaf, the installation reads as both totemic structure and spatial ornament, drawing the gaze upward through its near 4-meter height.

Central to the work is materiality. Each shade is handcrafted in Los Angeles using hanji, a traditional Korean mulberry paper, layered meticulously to achieve a textured, almost marble-like translucency. Once illuminated, the surfaces emit a warm, diffused glow, blurring the boundary between object and architecture.

Presented by Magran Living

Originally introduced at Collectible NYC, Totemic evolves at Alcova into a more ambitious, large-scale environment. The installation doubles in scale and introduces new material dialogues, including cast-glass elements developed in collaboration with Brooklyn-based artist Matthew Day Perez. Subtle tones of pink and amber are embedded within a sculptural table component, casting coloured reflections that extend the work’s presence beyond its physical form.

The project also traces back to founder Andrea Claire’s early explorations at Chinati Foundation, where she began investigating light as a spatial medium. Here, that inquiry culminates in a body of work that is at once atmospheric and architectural—an interplay of ritual, material, and illumination that redefines the role of lighting in contemporary interiors.

On view at Alcova from 20 to 26 April, Totemic stands as both a meditative object and an immersive environment.