James Turrell and Lalique Collaborate on Limited-Edition Perfumes and Bottles

An unusual yet exquisite collaboration debuted this fall at Paris+ Art Basel: Lalique x James Turrell. The luxury French crystal brand and legendary American artist culled their respective expertise to produce a limited-edition collection of perfume and perfume bottles as well as a 15-by-18-inch decorative panel.

The project is the brainchild of Lalique Group chairman and CEO Silvio Denz, who, after visiting Turrell’s Roden Crater in Arizona, where the artist lives, then recalled how founder René Lalique was known as the “sculptor of light,” had the aha moment to contact Turrell about working together. Denz invited Turrell to the company’s workshops in Wingen-Sur-Moder, where he witnessed master glass­makers in action. The experience resulted in two perfume bottles made from Lalique’s purple, sapphire blue, and clear crystal, their prism- and stupalike forms inspired by those Turrell has seen in Egypt, Tibet, and Burma.

“Their architectural structure, like that of the pyramids, makes them monuments of high spiritual value in which light plays an essential role,” he says. Each contains a different scent, also developed by Turrell: the feminine, fruity Purple Sage, named for the plant that blooms only in his home state, and the masculine, musky Range Rider, reminiscent of the sun-drenched leather chaps used in western ranching. Turrell has a second project underway with his newfound collaborator: a malt-whiskey decanter for Glenturret, a Scottish distillery recently acquired by Denz.