SOFT OPENING

In Soft Opening, Lindsey Adelman will unveil the first works from LaLAB, her new platform for experimental work without agenda; a studio within the studio to further her artistic practice and push boundaries. Soft Opening is about shedding the hardness of that which is fixed and determined, and having the courage to reveal the soft parts that are continuously being worked out in the liminal space between concrete resolution and fantastical experimentation. In this space, three new series of illuminated works–Mobiles, Cages, and Rock Lights–will come together to create a celestial atmosphere set against a dark, otherworldly backdrop. The Mobiles–sculptural light works made up of various hanging elements based on principles of equilibrium–will hang throughout the room. Process-driven works that came together fluidly, they are at once physically settled but also perpetually moving, embodying constant transformation. Interspersed, the Cages, with their exacting angular frames, appear precise, strong, and fixed, yet brim with a visual vibration that emanates a frequency of sorts. Rock Lights—small, anthropomorphic, one-of-a-kind table lights made of hand-blown glass drooped over different minerals—will dot the floor. Taken all together, these works realize an energetic realm of opportunity and experimentation in which Adelman lets the fantasy work come out.

American lighting designer Lindsey Adelman has long been obsessed with illumination in all its forms. Her work treads the porous border between sculpture and design, taking inspiration from such diverse sources as Eva Hesse's Rope sculptures, the pattern, colors, and bodily ornamentation of The Maasai, and the films of David Lynch. Combining organic handwrought materials like blown glass with the strong industrial beauty of machine-milled components, her lighting systems create radiant warmth while underscoring the drama of shadows and emptiness. Her Studio in New York City, founded in 2006, designs, prototypes, and builds in-house, working with a close circle of local manufacturers to develop and produce custom parts.