Designer Dace Sūna works with space and light. Her meditative installation Cosmic Dancer, which combines these two interests, received the National Design Award of Latvia 2024 (LDGB) in the environmental design category. Dace is one of the founders of the newly established emerging design platform Home Ground, and her light objects are currently on display in the platform’s exhibition at Sporta 2 quarter. While you can learn more about Cosmic Dancer at the LDGB exhibition in Esplanāde. In the Nice Touch section, Dace talks about an unusual modelling tool.
«I once bought a bright orange, flexible, rubber-coated wire at a Home Depot in Los Angeles, which I think is used to transport planks. It has proved very useful in various installations and random situations, most of all in creating three-dimensional sketches of neon objects.
It was in Los Angeles that my interest in neon began, as the city has a deep history of neon culture and craft. There I worked with a third-generation master neon specialist. I wanted to take neon out of the two-dimensional world and create sculptural forms. Traditional craftsmen often didn’t understand my idea, so I was looking for a material that would allow me to easily and quickly create three-dimensional forms. So this wire has been with me for five years now. When I moved back to Europe, I left a lot behind in the US, but I brought this wire to Latvia, where it was also useful for creating the objects for the Home Ground exhibition.»
Dace Sūna graduated from the MA in Contextual Design at the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2023. She also holds a BA in Interior Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, which she completed in 2015. While living in Los Angeles, she mastered the art of neon, creating three-dimensional light objects. In the Netherlands, Dace focused on conceptual installations using light as a poetic medium of expression. You can follow the designer’s creative process on her website and Instagram account.
Dace’s light objects, along with the work of other young Latvian design studios, are on display at the Home Ground exhibition in the Sports 2 quarter until August 31, while the winners and finalists of the National Design Award of Latvia 2024 can be discovered at the outdoor exhibition in Esplanāde until September 30.
Viedokļi