UnBearable champagne cooler

On invitation of Lex van Lith of the artists foundry Beeldenstorm and  Max Lipsey , PeLi has been exploring bronze casting. Under the theme “elemental sentiments” and in cooperation with ONOMATOPEE a group of designers were asked to investigate (metal) casting. The works were first shown at the Dutch Design week 2011 in the exposition “Copy Nature”.

PeLi was researching the possibilities of direct interaction with the material. The touch and feel of handling and crafting a material and the expression thereof. The outcome of this research is “UnBearable” a champagne cooler. No “UnBearable” is the same as the other…it is a unique and handmade piece of solid bronze. At first wax bucket is made,  which is then deformed by ripping open the material to create the handle. This ripping movement is frozen in time…the “hand of the maker” is still apparent in the finished object.After that  the cooler is cast in bronze with the so called “lost wax” method and finally laboriously polished on the inside.

In times of (culture)economic hardships the “UnBearable” champagne cooler  takes care of the ice cold bubbles. While sipping a glass of champagne, one could ponder about such questions as the validity of limited editions design or the superiority of craft over  industrial production…

Thanks for the bronze casting to Mr. Sill Brink of foundry Brink: website