Mantzalin’s Architectural Lace Pays Homage to Tesla

Mantzalin’s Architectural Lace Pays Homage to Tesla

Artist and artisan Manca learned her craft of bobbin lacemaking during her childhood in the highlands of Western Slovenia.

Mantzalin's Architectural Lace Žiri timeline

After years in architecture and product design, she has lately returned to her handcrafting roots—albeit, applying them on a much larger scale with her company, Mantzalin.

Mantzalin's Architectural Lace Etsy Offices

Her current focus is the connection between architectural space and lace, as seen in multiple works of spatial lace installations in New York and her home in Slovenia.

Mantzalin's Architectural Lace shoemaking piece with shoes hanging from lace

Her grandest effort to date, “Tesla Enlaced” is an ambitious wall covering made of electric and fiber optic cable spanning multiple floors in the new national power transmission company in Ljublijana.

Mantzalin's Architectural Lace side view of one wall

The piece is an homage to Nikola Tesla—a graphic representation of his diagram of the AC Motor, with the circuits represented by glowing fiber optic cable.

Mantzalin's Architectural Lace fiber optic cable interwoven

The integration of lace and cable not only references the intersection of hand-crafting and technology that characterizes Manca’s work, but also the network of electric distribution lines woven into Ljublijana’s fabric.

Mantzalin's Architectural Lace view from cafe

To read more, see Mantzalin.

Leave a Reply