The Spotlight: Functional Lighting as Illuminated Sculpture

Hovering between art and engineering, lighting design requires multidisciplinary creativity and finesse. Our direct engagement with lighting objects is often limited in a tactile sense to the flipping of a switch. Yet, the ephemeral force that they emit revolutionizes how we experience any environment. With many lights designed to serve first and foremost as transmitters that dissolve anonymously into a space, this exhibition will instead focus on those that stand out on their own as sculptural art objects. The lamps and lighting that will be shown in this exhibition transform spaces through their primary functional capacity but also through the elegance and intrigue that they bring to domestic and commercial environments. This exhibition will focus on lighting types and styles that feature craftsmanship melded with design innovation.

Participating artists include: Garry Knox Bennett, Evan Chambers, Byron Conn, Julie Conway, Timothy J. Ferrie, Mia Hall, Nathaniel Hall, Hilliard Lighting, Brett A. MacLearnsberry, Po Shun Leong, John Conver Lutz, Julie Moringello, Neptune Glass, Marcus Papay, Kenny Pieper, Isabella Pierson, Christopher Poehlmann, Clark Renfort, William Stranger, and Hongtao Zhou.

A series of lectures by leading artists in the field of functional lighting design will accompany this exhibition. This exhibition was co-planned with The Furniture Society.

Hongtao Zhou, Energy Wood lumber floor lamp, 2016 (l). Byron Conn, Dahlia Table Lamp, 2012 (r).

Hongtao Zhou, Energy Wood lumber floor lamp (detail), 2016 — Hongtao Zhou, Energy Wood lumber floor lamp, 2016 (l). Byron Conn, Dahlia Table Lamp, 2012 (r).

Photos by Madison Metro