Before the Eclipse

Los Angeles designer Jialun Xiong introduces Before the Eclipse, an immersive solo exhibition with three new celestial-inspired light fixtures (an arched floor lamp, ceiling light, and wall sconces) along with her architectural furnishings, table lamps, and ceramic tableware sets. Designed to emulate the dark vastness of space, Xiong’s exhibition explores the natural curiosity and unexplainable calm of our galaxy with planet-like light fixtures that appear to float in mid-air. Washed in Xiong’s signature black-and-white gradient hues, Before the Eclipse also invites a meditative experience that emphasizes texture, material, and craft–key design traits that often take a backseat to color.
Being her debut solo exhibition, Before the Eclipse is Xiong’s first chance to completely control her environment. Setting the mood with dimly lit fixtures and dark interiors, Xiong creates a contemplative, hypnotic space that makes a bold statement without saying too much. And while Xiong enjoys dictating the nature of her exhibition, she purposely leaves room for interpretation. Much like people’s feelings about space, she anticipates the exhibition to evoke a spectrum of feelings from calm to discomfort. No matter what viewers’ takeaways will be, their reactions demonstrate the subtle power behind Xiong’s work.

Hailing from Chongqing, China, Jialun Xiong is a Los Angeles-based designer exploring ideas of duality and creative restraint in her designs for interiors, furnishings, lighting, and accessories. Graphic, high-drama, and rigorously intentional, Xiong’s design objects push the boundaries of their construction, balancing positive and negative space as a means of heightening the experience of their users. Hovering between weightlessness and weighty, Xiong’s forms inspire a quiet contemplation and gentle focus that keeps one squarely grounded in the present.