Artwork Details

Title: Komorebi
Artist: Mariana Botero
Year: 2025
Media: Color laminated glass on steel plate structure

Physical Description of Work

The installation is comprised of six totems, each uniquely colored and crafted from 1-inch thick translucent tempered glass. They vary in height from 4 to 6.5 feet and in width from 14 to 28 inches. The totems showcase the colors Golden Light Yellow, Honey Orange, Imperial Red, Green Apple, Azure Blue, and Indigo Purple. Positioned in an upright radial formation, the interplay of these vibrant hues evolves with the shifting natural light throughout the day. Each totem is securely anchored by a steel plate structure, ensuring stability, and enhancing the visual impact of the installation. The artwork is illuminated with up-lighting at night, enhancing its visibility and impact.

Artist Statement            

Architecture has the power to shape our emotions and behaviors through the manipulation of light and shadow, influencing our perception of space and even affecting our body temperature. Often subconsciously, our emotional states are intricately linked to the spaces we occupy.

As both an architect and an artist, my creative endeavors revolve around the exploration of ways to amplify these physical reactions through the interplay of texture, color, light, and shadow. Structures that surpass or match the human scale, may be capable of directly translating physical responses into emotional experiences.

In this pursuit, I embrace the enchanting phenomenon known as crepuscular rays, or “KOMOREBI® { 木漏れ日 }”—a Japanese term referring to sunlight filtered through leaves, particularly denoting the visible light rays. Deconstructed, “Komorebi” reveals its components, where “Ko” signifies tree or trees (reference). While technically rooted in the play of light through trees, creating prisms of color, the impact is profound—a transcendence into sublime and magical moments of bliss, a fleeting sanctuary within the embrace of nature.

Utilizing color and translucency as vehicles, I orchestrate a dance of perpetual movement and transformation between the sculpture, the structure, and its surroundings. This unpredictable manipulation of light aims to create an experience that transcends the visual, inviting individuals to engage with and be moved by the dynamic interplay of architectural elements and light.

Artist Biography

Mariana Botero, born and raised in Colombia, began her studies in Architecture at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana before transferring to the Rhode Island School of Design, where she earned both a B.F.A. and a Master of Architecture with honors. She also participated in the European Honors Program in Rome, exhibiting her work at Palazzo Dei Cenci and Circolo Degli Artisti.

After gaining professional experience, Mariana pursued a Master's in Strategic Design at IE University in Madrid. Her artistic career includes exhibitions at ArtTecho during Art Basel Week, Arevalo Gallery in Miami, and the Centre for Social Innovation Conference in New York. Her works have been featured and auctioned in Medellin, Miami, New York, and Madrid.

In 2018, Mariana founded Designio Contento, a studio blending art with architectural design, which relocated to San Francisco in 2021. While her focus is on architecture and interior design, she strives to reintroduce art into her work, creating spaces that inspire with both beauty and meaning.