Giopato & Coombes is a creative studio that brings together a design approach and art research into their projects, founded in Italy by Cristiana Giopato and Christopher Coombes, an Italian-British architect and designer couple. Their practice uses light as a medium merging material and immaterial, to redefine interaction spaces by capturing everyday moments and elevating them to a collective celebration of memories and sensations. They call it the Supernatural Daydream, an experience that begins with our every day and goes beyond boundaries. For them, the creative process is aimed at evoking this experience, which is unique for everyone, and sharing it with one light creation at a time.

Giopato & Coombes
Design studio Giopato & Coombes in collaboration with Venetian artisans has created Maehwa Collection Lighting Sculptures installation, featuring brass structures shaped like branches and handcrafted glass spheres resembling plum blossoms. This installation expresses a sense of awe amidst the chaos and alienation of rapidly changing cities and has garnered global attention.
A Forest of Blossoming Wonders was inspired by the plum blossoms the designer duo encountered during their visit to Yeouido Han River Park in Seoul in 2019. The installation, a fusion of light and design, function and wonder, and poetry and manufactured objects, is displayed at various heights for viewing from both the ground level and the elevated walkway. In a space where natural and artificial light blend, the colors of the glass spheres transition from pink to transparent, like dancing flower petals.
Valentina Buzzi (b.1995) is an Italian curator, writer, and advisor in contemporary art, living and working between South Korea, Italy, and France, , often working in cultural diplomacy, curating exhibitions that foster the connections between Italy and Korea, collaborating with with Embassies and Cultural Institutes.
Image Credits
Exhibition Thumbnail Image (in the same sequence as the images shown)Installation view of A Forest of Blossoming Wonders at Salon Hannam 2024, 4–14 September, 2024artwork © Giopato&Coombes
Photo: Creative SilverArtist Image Credit (from top to bottom)Studio Brinth