Illuminate: Design in Light
April 2nd – May 31st, 2014Events, Exhibitions
Featuring the work of:
Lindsey Adelman
Bec Brittain
Sebastian Errazuriz
furthurdesign
Jason Miller
Mary Wallis
Thaddeus Wolfe
Rich Brilliant Willing
Jeff Zimmerman
Illuminate: Design in Light looks at the many ways in which New York City designers use glass in their lighting. In these pieces, glass is an essential component of the design: creating form in curves and angles; modulating and reflecting light; and referencing its history as an agent of illumination, from Venetian chandeliers to neon signs. "The designers in this exhibition have taken lighting far beyond its function of illumination," says curator Jennifer Scanlan. "These are really works of art, that use light as one of their materials."
The exhibition features a cross-section of some of the most in-demand young designers based in New York City, and presents many of their innovative, one-of-a-kind works. Some of these, by designers Jeff Zimmerman, Thaddeus Wolfe, and Bill Couig of furthurdesign, will be on view to the public for the first time.
Lindsey Adelman has become a major force in lighting design with sculptural pieces that make the most of handblown irregularity and craftsmanship. Her studio has also been a supportive environment for young designers. Two of these will be included: Bec Brittain, whose Vise chandelier uses a geometric brass structure to enclose a soft handblown globe with the colors of a Miami sunset, and Mary Wallis, who has introduced neon into the domestic interior in her clean, modern designs.
Design trio Rich Brilliant Willing will be represented by an installation of their sleek minimalist Gala chandelier, inspired by ripe fruit hanging from a tree. Sebastian Errazuriz goes completely in the other direction, with usual tongue-in-cheek approach, presenting a chandelier like the one he remembers from his grandmother's house, complete with the birds that used to perch there.
