CULTURE

Gloria Cortina creates spaces and pieces that are conceived and composed as art in three dimensions. They express ideas and emotions prompted by modernity and myth – ‘a search for the harmony and beauty that can be found in conscious and unconscious imaginings.’

Working from her bases in New York and Mexico City her designs, curations and artistic collaborations overlap dynamically. ‘It’s like a dance, a series of movements’ she explains, ‘the weaving together of a complete three-dimensional living experience by giving and receiving ideas.’

Gloria describes a key part of her approach as being ‘almost like sculpting space and light’. She creates compositions that bring together art, architectural form, and culture to create extremely place-sensitive atmospheres and aesthetics.

Her designs, for clients who have included leaders in the tech and communication sectors and art world figures, flow from her intense interest in the physical, emotional, and creative qualities of spaces, materials, and objects.

Gloria’s inspirations range from Mayan artefacts to Cubism, 20th century Modernist art and architecture, México’s unique Arts and Crafts heritage, and natural and archaeological environments. These, and other sources, give her spatial compositions the character of three-dimensional art.

They often include pieces from her own Collectible Design series and are characterised by the use of beautiful and unusual materials, crafted with exceptional attention to detail by her own team of highly-skilled makers.

Her furniture has been acquired by major cultural institutions such as the Cooper Hewitt and Smithsonian in New York, and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and it has been featured in publications including Vogue, Architectural Digest, Elle Decoration, Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.

Gloria’s ability to transcend familiar forms of spatial design reflects her own personal journey. After training at one of the world’s elite creative powerhouses, the Parsons School of Design in New York, she collaborated with outstanding architects who included the Praemium Imperiale-winning Ricardo Legoretta, and she then established her own design studio in 2009. And this journey has come full circle: having begun her design Odyssey at Parsons, she now lectures there.

MYTH & MODERNITY

Gloria‘s design inspirations range from Mayan artefacts to Cubism, 20th century Modernist art and architecture, México’s unique Arts and Crafts heritage, and natural and archaeological environments. These, and other sources, give her architectural spaces a uniquely individual character. They feature pieces from her own Collectible Design series of objects, furniture and fabrics, which are characterised by the use of beautiful and unusual materials, crafted with exceptional attention to detail.

These pieces are hand-made by her own team of craftspeople. Their understanding of materials is part of a centuries-old lineage of craft skills, and some of these makers are in the second or third generation of their families’ involvement with Gloria’s creations.

‘I greatly value the individuality of their work,’ she says, ‘because they give my designs a very particular, culturally grounded aura.’

BIBLIOGRAPHY

2023-24
ArtnewsTEFAF Maastricht’s Unique Blend of Art History, Contemporary Art, and Design Is Its Great DifferentiatorUSA
FTThe line of beauty connecting ancient Greek vases and modern abstract paintingsUK
A! DiseñoGloria Cortina: Interiors, Modernity & MythMexico
2021-22
Architectural DigestVivir en la GloriaMexico
Patron MagazineAhead of DesignUSA
Cultured MagazineCultured and Indagare Pack Their Bags and Head to Mexico CityUSA
Cultured MagazineIn Mexico City, Contemporary Design Takes Cues From HistoryUSA
The SpacesLatin American and European Designs Share The Spotlight in Mexico CityLondon
Galerie MagazineTour Gallerist Sean Kelly’s Hudson Yards ApartmentNew York
The Design EditLuxesLondon
ForbesStay In Vail’s Most Exclusive New Penthouse ResidenceNew York
ForbesInside Casa Dragones’ Well-Designed Tasting RoomNew York
Architectural DigestJeremiah Brent Brings Worldly Flair to This Manhattan ApartmentNew York
2018-20
The Design EditCollectible Design and the Circular EconomyLondon
The New York TimesThe Meaning of LuxuryNew York
Architectural Digest8 Salon Art + Design StandoutsNew York
A Shaded View On FashionCristina Grajales Gallery Announces: Gloria Cortina’s Synergy BenchParis
Architectural DigestCasa Romano, un Proyecto Que Fusiona Arte y EstiloMexico
DezeenMexican House In Cabo Designed With "Almost Sculptural Quality"London
Robb ReportHow Mexico’s New Wave of Designers Is Changing the Way We Dress, Live and TravelUSA
The Design EditHand In HandLondon
Architectural DigestUn Hogar Contemporáneo En Las LomasMexico
1st DibsGloria Cortina Takes Us Shopping In Mexico CityUSA
2013-17
Architectural DigestReinterpretación Creativa Con CausaMexico
Architectural DigestMaestría ArtesanalMexico
Economic JournalGloria Cortinas Synergy BenchHong Kong
FT, How to Spend ItJewel-Like Furnishings That Light Up The RoomUK
Architectural DigestLos 100 Talentos LATINOSMexico
VogueDesign Miami InfluencersUSA
VogueGloria Cortina: Valor de Nación ConcretizadoL. America
Sotheby's MagazineGloria Cortina's New Expression of Mexican DesignUSA
Architectural DigestTalento FemeninoMexico
Cultured MagazineMore Than a MomentUSA
Architectural DigestSofisticación MexicanaMexico
FT, How to Spend ItThe Best of Design Miami 2016UK
FT WeekendDesign Miami: from Limited Edition Jewellery to a Shimmering Café InstallationUK
Architectural DigestLiteratura InvernalMexico
Architectural DigestNew Furniture Line Channels the Mythology of MexicoUSA
Food & TravelCasa Dragones se ReinventaMexico
Architectural DigestGloria Cortina la Sobriedad y la Perfeccion...Mexico
LusterGloria Cortina: "Estoy Envuelta en México"Venezuela
WSJ MagazineTop Brass: Geometric TablesUSA
SummusGloria Cortina, Al Interior de la ArquitecturaColombia
Architectural DigestThe Salon: Art+DesignMexico
Architectural DigestRacionalismo EmocionalMexico
Architectural DigestLa Casa de Gloria Cortina, Elegante y PrecisaMexico
Financial TimesMexico’s Designers Seek to Win Over Domestic MarketUK