Brillante represents the longstanding collaboration of Mariposa designer Michael Updike with our two aluminum workshops down in Mexico. As Michael says, it’s shared curiosity and experience that make all of them ready to take risks.
“I was trained as a sculptor. My ability to model comes from thinking in three dimensions: imagining how a piece will look and how it’ll sit in the mold. From knowing our foundries in Mexico, I can design to their individual techniques.
“We want each piece to be able to stand alone without needing others to explain it. We always try to celebrate motifs in a new way. An everyday object can still set off unexpected echoes. Like an artichoke we transform into a platter. By changing the scale of an object, you make it playful or heroic.
“It’s nice to glorify, say, a leaf by turning it into a large bowl. Or take an element like the dimples of a sea urchin or the seeds of a sunflower and turn it into an abstract design that makes you see differently. And it works both ways. When we make the petals of a flower in aluminum, the natural undulations bring out shimmering qualities in the metal.
“I love to take the small spheres you see done in other metals and make them grander. The result is whimsical, because you end up with an impossible wealth of pearls. Aluminum allows us to be elegant without ever becoming stuffy.
“Sometimes I refer to the past. I’ll experiment with classic architectural and decorative motifs. Many elements are derived from traditional silver patterns. By isolating an element, exaggerating it, we give it a provocative modern edge. It’s a chance to experiment, to be freer, to play more. We’ll create a liquid texture, since something aluminum does well is to look fluid.
“Once I literally threw clay down in the road and did a casting from that. I’ll take images from many cultures and play with them. Or I’ll imitate reedwork in the metal, trying to fool the eye momentarily. We’re just glorifying what nature’s already produced.”