Founded in 2007 in the town of Como, Italy, Draga & Aurel is a multi-disciplinary design studio that works along the spectrum of furniture, textile and interior design. Draga Obradovic began her career in the fashion industry, first working in London and Milan as a textile designer before eventually settling in Como. Aurel K. Basedow graduated from Milan’s Accademia di Belle Arti with a degree in Fine Arts, having previously trained as a carpenter and woodworker. The most recent capsule collection reflects the use of transparent materials as well as a deeper exploration of what transparency can mean in art and design.

Draga and Aurel’s latest works, appropriately named the Flare collection and exclusive to Todd Merrill Studio, showcases their profound exploration of transparency in art and design. Drawing inspiration from the elegant simplicity of Minimalism, the futuristic charm of Space Age design, and the mesmerizing patterns of Optical Art, Draga & Aurel have ingeniously amalgamated these influences. Each piece in this collection is meticulously handcrafted from Lucite, a material that captures their fascination.

Flare epitomizes the duo’s deep dive into the interplay of color and light refraction. Through a rigorous study of materials and their capacity to come alive with color and light, Draga & Aurel have created a material process that imitates internal illumination created as opposing colors react to ambient light . Their mastery in epoxy resin artistry is globally acknowledged, and in this project, they push their creative boundaries further by embracing Lucite. This acrylic material undergoes a painstaking process, with skilled artisans from Lake Como collaborating closely with the duo in their studio.

Inspired by the intricate three-dimensional color studies of South Korean artist Jiyong Lee and the compositional brilliance of Vasa Mihich’s acrylic sculptures, Draga & Aurel delved into the concept of refraction. By strategically combining colored Lucite sheets of varying shapes and thicknesses, they achieved a mesmerizing spectrum of hues. Each piece is precisely cut and glued, resulting in an astonishing interplay of light and color—a revelation for anyone who beholds it. These multifaceted objects, with their ever-changing appearance from different angles, epitomize the essence of a flare, representing intuition, revelation, and the joy of discovery. In the words of Obradovic, “Flare is a spark of color that explodes, frees itself, and takes shape. It’s joy, experimentation, intuition, and freedom of expression.”