Lanzarote Island
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“Art is an anthropological matter; and in Lanzarote we have worked giving our absolute all.”
César Manrique
Luminary Issue 35 - WONDER
Colours inspired by the extreme wonders of our beautiful Earth. I travelled to Lanzarote, a remote volcanic island off the coast of Africa. A baron landscape of black lava rock, highlighted with verdant cacti greens and deep sapphire aquatic sea pools.
César Manrique drew on Lanzarote’s volcanic scenery, incorporating emerald, jade, and sage greens into his art and architecture to reflect the island’s dramatic contrasts, lush jameos, and verdant oases.
Manrique’s palette was more than aesthetic choice; it celebrated nature’s resilience, pairing organic forms with bold, earthy tones. His iconic 1968 home, built around five natural volcanic bubbles linked by tunnels carved into lava, embodies this vision. Verdant cacti and a vivid underground swimming pool create a striking contrast against the espresso-black volcanic rock.
This is expressive, excessive and over-grown colour. Huge verdant yucca plants trail across architectural forms, ancient and other-worldly cacti inspire a multitude of greens from chartreuse to bright jade. Deep, dark underground cave-pools in Lanzarote offer luminous and precious colours of emerald to sapphire.
The wonder of colours found in extraordinary landscapes; vivid violet-blue skies, and deep indigo lagoons. Aquatic - underwater liquid colours bubble up from below, shifting in the light like a dreamy illusion between blue and green, dense and transparent, light and dark.
The climate crisis demands a new relationship between design and the natural world. Architecture and interiors are shifting beyond human-centred thinking, responding instead to the rhythms of landscape, ecology and place.
Every visual choice has the power to evoke emotion, shape perception and create a lasting impression; the consumer appetite is shifting, toward designing objects and crafting experiences that endure. We take great care in selecting colours and materials that will excite you way beyond a single ‘season’, highlighting colours with a timeless elegance.
This book is filled with astonishing beauty and simple everyday pleasures, human experiences that inspire real-world colour decision making.
Luminary Colour Issue 35 - WONDER. Photography by Anna Starmer
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