Ring • Chain is a mirror sculpture by the French artist Arnaud Lapierre at Ruihong Tiandi in Shanghai's Hongkou district. Unveiled in 2017, it is a ring of stacked, mirror-polished stainless steel cubes with an opening you can walk through. From inside, your reflection repeats toward infinity. It was Lapierre's first permanent artwork in China, and it was developed, fabricated and installed by the public art studio UAP. This article looks at the idea behind the work and what goes into a mirror finish this demanding.
This is an independent appreciation. Elite Fixtures did not design, fabricate or install Ring • Chain. The work is by Arnaud Lapierre and was fabricated by UAP; the photographs are courtesy of the artist and UAP.
At a glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Work | Ring • Chain |
| Artist | Arnaud Lapierre, Paris (represented by MTArt Agency) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Location | Entrance to the Hall of the Moon, Ruihong Tiandi, Hongkou, Shanghai |
| Material | Mirror-polished stainless steel cuboids |
| Size | Listed by UAP at 3.5 × 5.5 m |
| Client | Shui On Land and China Xintiandi |
| Design development, fabrication and installation | UAP |
| Status | Permanent |
The artist and the mirror
Arnaud Lapierre trained at ENSCI–Les Ateliers in Paris and has made large installations since 2010. Mirrors are his main tool. His first Ring, made with Audi in 2011, stood on Place Vendôme in Paris during the FIAC art fair. In 2019 he installed Vertigo at Paris-Orly airport: a 9 m tower of 150 mirror-finished cubes weighing five tonnes, which took three years of engineering to meet airport rules.
Ring • Chain brings that language to a Shanghai plaza. The cubes are stacked in a staggered pattern, like bricks in a wall, with gaps left between them. From outside, the ring reads as a solid object that reflects the trees, towers and people around it. The gaps make the wall porous, so light and views pass through. Step inside and the curved mirrors bounce your image back and forth, so the everyday space of a shopping plaza suddenly looks endless.
Reflections that move with the day
In an article on LinkedIn, Lapierre explains that the stainless steel plates on Ring • Chain were deliberately deformed with heat. The small spring left in each plate means the reflections shift and warp as the temperature changes through the day. He also notes that the effect helps soften sound inside the ring. It is a subtle choice: instead of fighting for a perfectly flat mirror, the artist uses the steel's own response to heat as part of the work.
What a mirror finish demands
We polish stainless steel to a mirror finish in our own factory, so we tend to look at works like this from the workshop side. UAP has not published its process for Ring • Chain; the points below are general to mirror-polished stainless steel work.
A mirror shows everything
A brushed or textured finish hides small dents, grinding marks and uneven welds. A mirror finish magnifies them, because any flaw bends the reflection. That is why mirror work starts with flat, clean sheet, careful handling, and protective film that stays on until the last moment.
Edges and seams do the talking
On a cube, the edges are what the eye follows. Folded or welded edges have to be crisp and straight, and any welded seam has to be ground flush and re-polished so it disappears into the reflection. On a stacked piece like Ring • Chain, the joints between cubes also need to line up across the whole ring.
Polishing is done in stages
A mirror finish is built up through a sequence of abrasives, each finer than the last, followed by buffing compounds. Skipping a stage leaves scratches that show under direct light. Large panels are usually polished before assembly and then touched up after.
Outdoors, the grade and the cleaning plan matter
A mirror surface in a busy plaza collects fingerprints, rain spots and city grime. Owners need a simple cleaning plan with the right cleaners and soft cloths. In coastal or road-salt environments, 316 stainless is usually chosen over 304 for its better resistance to pitting.
If you are commissioning a mirror stainless steel sculpture
- Agree on what "mirror" means. Look at finish samples under daylight before production, and agree on how visible seams may be.
- Plan the joints with the artist. Where panels meet, and whether those lines are hidden or part of the design, affects the look more than anything else.
- Choose the grade for the site. 316 stainless for coastal and road-salt exposure; 304 is common in milder settings.
- Budget for cleaning. Mirror sculptures look their best when someone is responsible for keeping them clean.
Elite Fixtures fabricates mirror-polished stainless steel sculpture from designs supplied by artists and design studios.
FAQ
What is Ring • Chain?
Ring • Chain is a permanent mirror sculpture by the French artist Arnaud Lapierre at Ruihong Tiandi in Shanghai, unveiled in 2017. It is a ring of staggered, mirror-polished stainless steel cubes with an opening visitors can walk through. Inside, reflections repeat toward infinity. It was Lapierre's first permanent artwork in China.
Who fabricated Ring • Chain?
Ring • Chain was fabricated by UAP, an international public art studio. According to UAP, it handled design development, fabrication and installation for Arnaud Lapierre, and the project brought polished stainless steel into Lapierre's practice. The clients were Shui On Land and China Xintiandi.
How was Ring • Chain made?
Ring • Chain was made from mirror-polished stainless steel cuboids, stacked in a staggered ring by UAP, which handled design development, fabrication and installation. According to Arnaud Lapierre, the plates were deliberately deformed with heat, so the reflections shift and warp as the temperature changes through the day. Our guide to mirror stainless steel sculpture explains the general process.
Where can I see Arnaud Lapierre's work?
Arnaud Lapierre's permanent works include Ring • Chain at Ruihong Tiandi in Shanghai and Vertigo, a 9 m mirror tower of 150 cubes in Terminal 3 at Paris-Orly airport, installed in 2019. His agency, MTArt Agency, lists his current projects and handles enquiries.
Sources
- Arnaud Lapierre and UAP place immersive ring of mirrors in Shanghai, designboom
- Ring • Chain, UAP
- Ring Chain becomes permanent fixture in China, Creative Boom
- Create an immersive installation, Arnaud Lapierre on LinkedIn
- Arnaud Lapierre, MTArt Agency
- Vertigo at Paris-Orly, Journal du Design
About this article
Elite Fixtures was not involved in creating Ring • Chain. We wrote this piece as an appreciation of the work and an explainer on the craft behind mirror-polished stainless steel. Photographs are courtesy of the artist and UAP and are shown with permission.
Interested in a work by Arnaud Lapierre? Commissions go through his agency, MTArt Agency. Elite Fixtures is a fabrication partner: we build work that artists and designers have already designed, and we don't create original artworks or make reproductions of existing ones. If you have your own concept for a mirror stainless steel piece, talk to our team about fabrication.
