Sculptural chandeliers and furniture, made by hand in Brooklyn.
Bursting with blossoms and fruits like an exploded cornucopia, my chandeliers resemble elements of a still-life painting scattered into the air and brought to three-dimensional sculptural life. They are meant to look awkward and beautiful — brass tubing that feels like odd plumbing pipes protruding in multiple directions, interspersed with glass fruit, flowers and busy insects.
The Gardening Series
I repurpose glass pieces salvaged from yard sales or a grandmother’s attic — part of a glass fruit display or a small flower vase. I dust them off and alter them — sometimes breaking pieces off and wrapping them with brass end pieces. I revive them and “upcycle” them into my own rendition of a Venetian chandelier.
Glass, bulbs, brass, electrical wiring
The Gardening chandeliers begin with the simplest of industrial materials: brass tubing — the kind you might find in a hardware store — bent by hand into branching, calligraphic arms. Each arm ends in a candelabra socket. The wiring runs inside, the joints are finely finished, and the whole is balanced so it hangs level and light.
What makes each piece unrepeatable is the glass. I work with vintage glass — the decorative fruits and flowers that were once everywhere in mid-century homes. Once considered out of style, these objects are re-fired, altered and suspended anew. Grapes, lemons, lily trumpets and daisies hang on near-invisible filaments at different heights, so the chandelier reads like a drawing in space.
About the Artist
I’m Charlotta Westergren. I was born in Sweden, and many of the themes in my work come from my summers in the coastal town of Åhus. I work in a range of media, from large-scale painting to installation and sculpture. My solo shows have been reviewed in the New York Times and Art in America, and my work has been featured in Harper’s Bazaar, the New Yorker and the Paris Review.
I worked as an architect, with a degree from Columbia, and then studied art at the Museum School in Boston. I’ve taught at the New School, the School of Visual Arts, Hofstra and other programs. To learn more about my paintings and other work, visit CharlottaWestergren.com.
Chairs, tables and shelving
My recent furniture creations are clean and minimalist yet whimsical. I work with materials like plexiglass, and with leather tanners and wood fabricators, to create chairs, tables and shelving.
For my tables, I source simple stainless-steel Parsons tables and float fluorescent plexiglass and heavy glass on top to create a magical light effect. For my chairs, I source simple Danish lounge-chair frames and combine them with leather cushions made from metallic-dyed hides. Books, appearing heavy, seem to float on shelving made from thick pieces of plexiglass.
Commissions & Trade
Every piece I create is made to order. Private clients, interior designers and architects are all welcome — write to charlotta@charlottawestergren.com.
Simpler furniture pieces, like my chairs with metallic leather cushions or my luminous acrylic and glass tables, can be made to order with custom colors and dimensions. My chandeliers are all custom designed. They begin with a consultation, which considers the space in which the light will be hung, the palette and the geometry. I create pieces that work with a client’s space.
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