Southern California, early morning.
The desert floor is still dark. The first sunlight begins to emerge. Colours shift from deep bronze to luminous gold. Long shadows stretch, contract and disappear, familiar forms transformed by the changing light.
It was this fleeting transformation that became the foundation of Solis.
Commissioned for a client in Southern California, the piano began as an exploration of the changing relationship between light and darkness, and the way a landscape can appear entirely different from one moment to the next.
The morning sun emerging above the horizon inspired the piano’s sweeping semi-circular forms, while the long lines cast across the landscape informed its silhouette-like sculptural leg structure.
Like the landscape that inspired it, Solis was designed to appear dramatically different from every viewpoint. The silhouette seen from the front is transformed when viewed from the side, while the opening and closing of the lid and music desk create entirely new compositions. Familiar forms appear and disappear as the piano is experienced from different angles, giving it an almost elusive quality. No single perspective feels definitive.
This sense of transformation extends into the material itself. The luminous gold surfaces, finished in 24-carat Sunbaked Gold, evoke sunlight striking rock and sand. The darker structural elements, finished in Heirloom Bronze liquid metal, reference the deeper tones that bring contrast and depth to the landscape. As natural light moves across the sculpture throughout the day, the balance between the two subtly shifts, reinforcing the idea that first inspired the design.
The result was more than a piano inspired by a place; it became an exploration of how atmosphere can be translated into form.
Now a permanent part of the Edelweiss Sculptural Collection, Solis is available for viewing by appointment at The Grand Hall, Cambridge.
