Omer Arbel, who is also a jury member of the AZ Awards 2016, is a renowned Vancouver designer best known for his lighting company, Bocci. For the AZ Awards trophy, which will be handed out to the winners at the AZ Awards gala on June 17, he has created a statuette that continues his multidisciplinary exploration of scale and materials.
Based in Vancouver and Berlin (where Bocci just opened a stunning new showroom), Arbel explores the intrinsic mechanical, physical, and chemical qualities of materials as fundamental departure points for making work. His interdisciplinary practice spans multiple scales and cultural-economic contexts to include building design, industrial design, materials research, sculpture, invention, and high craft manufacturing. Arbel’s work has been exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Spazio Rossana Orlandi, Mallett, and the Monte Clark Gallery, among others.