This year GRAU reinvented itself. Our team was joined by many smart creatives from art, fashion and architecture. Together we unfold our mission to activate people’s feelings with light. We transform our company based on our artistic vision: at GRAU we design sculptures and products that transmit a spiritual quality of light — beyond the visible, towards the emotional.
Parrot photographed by artist duo Torso for the series "Artists For Grau", 2020, New York City.
Even early humans gathered around the light of fire. Told each other stories. Celebrated rituals and practiced community. It was the charcoal from the fire that the first wall paintings were created with, in the caves of Lascaux. The flickering light of the fire set these images in motion.
Salt Sapiens, Limited Edition in collaboration with the Hamburger Kunstverein as part of the Jahresgaben 2023, Hamburg.
In 2021 the New York curatorial collective DIS invited GRAU to the Biennale of Moving Image in Geneva. We installed the Fire sculptures on three floors of the Museum of Contemporary Art where they let the visitors become part of a dynamic light experience. Their supernatural glow created a surreal atmosphere: a pulsating sense of light that animated the vast space.
"Fire, Burn from both ends" Light Sculpture, BIM21 Biennale for the Moving Image, Geneva, Switzerland (Photographer: Johann Clausen)
Bonfire addresses the ambivalent energy of fire. We translated the expressive beauty and social connectivity into a futuristic sculpture. It was exhibited at the Bergen Kunsthall in Norway and, as of last week is on display at the FRAC Champagne-Ardenne Museum. In its surrounding you immerse in a holistic experience, as the installation’s expressive light transforms the entire space, and you. At once feelings of intimacy and warmth, even overwhelm are activated in the course of Bonfire’s performance.
"Bonfire" light sculpture, FRAC Champagne-Ardenne, France.
This fall GRAU presented a lighting concept as part of the performance exhibition Eventide by REIF at the JULIA STOSCHEK COLLECTION. In an intimate atmosphere full of mysticism, the GRAU luminaires Parrot and Salt & Pepper were carried through the exhibition space by the performance artists, creating a dynamic light and sound experience. Collectively, we blurred the lines between conceptual art, design and anthropology.
Parrot as part of the performance Eventide by REIF, Julia Stoschek Collection, Berlin (Photographer: Moritz Freudenberg)
GRAU aims to redefine our relationship with light. For that, we need to rethink its place in our lives, fundamentally. Imagine having a similar relationship to light the way you do with music. Can light change your mood like a song does? We believe in its creative and spiritual power and offer a new context for thinking and feeling light. By using immersive and dynamic light sources, we aim to activate people’s ability to feel, remember and reconnect.