Studio von Schoenebeck’s Meditations mirror asks viewers to look inward

Studio von Schoenebeck’s MEDITATIONS places a mirror beside an abstracted marble column, turning a familiar act of looking into a prompt for reflection. The work was presented in the Contemporary Design Selection at Villa Saporiti during the 2026 Lake Como Design Festival, whose theme was “Confine / Border”.

A mirror balanced by marble

A folded, L-shaped mirror is paired with a column articulated by twelve flutes, a reference to the twelve books of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations. The reflective plane takes in the room, its architecture and the person standing before it; the column counters that shifting image with the weight and permanence of stone.

The composition gives physical form to the project’s interest in boundaries: between image and matter, the viewer and the object, and inner judgment and the world beyond one’s control.

An inscription revealed through reflection

A text connected to Aurelius’ writing is concealed from a direct view and encountered through the mirror. To read it, visitors meet their own reflection in the same plane. The mirror therefore moves beyond self-observation, redirecting attention towards the viewer’s response and judgment.

The viewer completes the work

For Studio von Schoenebeck, the work remains incomplete without someone standing before it. The twelve fluted divisions refer to Aurelius’ text; the person reflected in the mirror brings the next, unwritten meditation into the encounter. The boundary is not held by the object alone but forms between the object, its surroundings and the viewer.

Project Credits

Project: MEDITATIONS, hallway piece, 2026
Design: STUDIO VON SCHOENEBECK / @vonschoenebeck
Designers: Johannes von Schoenebeck and Magdalena Shterianova
Material: marble and reflective mirror
Support: MKM Stone Factory
Exhibition: Contemporary Design Selection, Lake Como Design Festival 2026
Curator: Giovanna Massoni
Venue: Villa Saporiti, Como, Italy
Dates: 12–20 September 2026
Installation photography: Alessandro Ruffini