Nayer Kazemi’s impressive collection of water-themed art objects gives designers/architects an entry into a whole new dimension in conceptualization of space. Presented in the artist’s gallery as “large water sculptures,” “wall fountains,” “table top fountains,” and “furniture and sculpture,” each piece embodies the idea of water as life and life as a concept that pertains not only to living, breathing organisms, but to negative space as well.

Water View Table. Designed by Nayer Kazemi.

Educated in Fine Arts in Tehran as well as Los Angeles, Kazemi’s work succeeds in fusing a West Coast modernism with the traditional Persian/Asian motif of connectivity between nature and the manufactured environment. By reminding us that “98% of the human body is composed of water, 3/4 of our planet is covered by water, water is in the soil, the air… water is in every part of nature-the sound of water brings peace and tranquility to many aspects of our lives,” Kazemi helps break down the wall between natural and constructed space, thus making room for gems such as “Lecturn,” a free-standing sculpture featuring twin wave-shaped steel shafts supporting translucent sheet glass; “Shi-Sheh Water Wall,” a 12 by 8 by 1 foot wall of frosted glass and brushed steel; “Baptismal,” a four-tiered free-standing fountain whose multi-level conception resembles the natural variations of a living stream; and, perhaps my favorite, “Industrial Stamens,” a creation of copper, slate, and ceramic, that, amazingly, captures all the dynamism of foliage in the breeze with the most industrial of materials.

Shi-Sheh Water Wall shown to the left.

Since Kazemi works from small to large (from the most diminutive of table-top fountains to full-sized structural wall sculptures), you can fine-tune the degree to which you’d like the water theme to dominate. Make a small gesture with “Nature Bowl,” or go all out with large, living pieces like “The Welcome Piece” or “Water View Table,” both of which exemplify how to incorporate live water into a piece without precluding functionality.

See more of Nayer Kazemi’s water sculptures at the Water Art website.