BY LUNA PAIVA
EXCLUSIVELY FOR STUDIOTWENTYSEVEN
LIMITED EDITION 3
SIGNED, SERIAL NUMBER AND CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY
YEAR 2025
GLAZED GRES CERAMIC
| IN | H | 66.1 | W | 31.4 | D | 31.4 | ||||
| CM | H | 168 | W | 80 | D | 80 |
COMMISSION WORKS ON REQUEST
HAND SCULPTED IN NETHERLANDS
EDITION NUMBER 1/3 AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 15TH, 2025
LOCATION NEW YORK, USA
For the second solo exhibition at STUDIOTWENTYSEVEN New York, gallerists Nacho Polo & Robert Onuska were delighted to curate The Seed, a series of works by acclaimed Franco-Argentine artist Luna Paiva. Marking a moment of thrilling transition in Paiva’s artistic practice, the exhibition features one-of-A-kind glazed ceramic sculptures alongside large scale colored pencil drawings. These exuberant works sprang from a moment of stillness for Paiva that allowed her to reflect on the fearless imaginative world that children embody. A serendipitous series of experiences made Paiva realize that this collection had been gestating for a long time, simply waiting to be realized
This is why PAIVA calls these works The Seed: it was planted long ago and now, through patience, time, and nurturing, it has borne these wondrous fruits. For Paiva, this miracle of art and the question of inspiration recalls the wisdom of Thoreau: “When a forest springs up naturally where none of its kind grew before, I do not hesitate to say that it came from seeds.” In other words, the artist’s life is her material, and she can surprise herself when it springs forth into fruition
Paiva began working on the series of colored pencil drawings, called Aura, out of necessity during the pandemic. As the foundries she relies on to create her sculptures remained closed for days and then months and then years, drawing became the only medium available to her. After discovering a triple-tier box of Caran d’Ache colored pencils in her studio, the Aura series emerged. Pregnant with her youngest daughter, Paiva found a kinship in the dual processes of making art and growing a child. As she says, “I felt like I was drawing a womb that became an aura as I discovered an invisible portrait within the different shades.” As motherhood often returns us to our own childhood, she recalled that creating color gradients had been a favorite childhood activity in her father’s Paris studio. Attending to her childhood self and the actual child within her, Paiva found herself composing this series of colored pencil gradients, using combinations she encountered serendipitously in the street, in nature, or through objects. Often drawing alongside her own children, she reconnected with that early game she once played with her father, sensing the same fascination: that there is something infinite beyond the colors
Those drawings, mysterious portraits of space, released a playful energy within Paiva, compelling her to create sculptures that could be activated through color and interaction. Beginning with climbable forms she created for a playground at the Amizmiz orphanage in Morocco, she began creating the extraordinary sculptures that would become the sculptures of The Seed, works that were visually compelling and physically engaging, merging beauty with utility. The vibrant chromatic language of the Aura drawings migrated into these playground structures, then into totemic cubes, and later into glazed ceramic sculptures
As in the drawings, color remains central, driving the composition and imbuing the works with movement and a sense of joy. In the process of creation, Paiva rediscovered an affinity not only for color, but for elemental gestures, rooted in her desire to make visible the often invisible machinery that goes into producing beautiful objects. Paiva links that exploration of the unseen to the essence of pregnancy, where both human and artistic creation demand an active commitment to the invisible. The series emphasizes the structural bones of form and the ebullient presence of color. Reminding us to focus our attention on the often overlooked details of daily life, that perhaps only children can see. Paiva invites us to consider what is possible when we return to that place of curiosity
As both curators and scenographers of the exhibition, Polo and Onuska have crafted an immersive environment that highlights the dialogue between Paiva’s sculptural works and drawings. Their visionary approach to the exhibition’s scenography exemplifies their role at the forefront of contemporary design curation. “Luna’s work embodies the essence of what we strive to present at STUDIOTWENTYSEVEN—design that transcends utility to become poetic, powerful, and timeless,” says Polo. “With the seed, LUNA has created a deeply sculptural body of work that challenges how we define function, space, and emotional resonance in design”
Blending design, visual art, and personal storytelling, the exhibition challenges viewers to reimagine the expressive boundaries of collectible design and interdisciplinary creativity
