(USA) – ‘A Realm of Light’ is a new collection of oil lamps by New York-based designer Lindsey Adelman, that was on view at TIWA Galley during New York’s Design Week last month. 

The collection of 32 oil lamps on display consist of two-archetypes: brass-chain-suspended amber hand-blown glass bulbs which can hang solo or create multi-configurations or chandeliers; and sitting lamps blown in brown, black, clear, and gold glass made with close collaborator Nancy Callahan. 

Lindsey Adelman, founder of Lindsey Adelman Studio, says: “This collection has allowed me to reflect on the building blocks of light, why I’m drawn to working with light, and why I’m a lighting designer. Firelight is my favourite kind of light. It is primal, raw, and constantly changing, and the space it illuminates is constantly changing too. It feels a bit radical as a lighting designer to just use fire, to completely sidestep or escape the rules of the cord and the plug and the UL listing. Sculpting with fire is completely different from designing for electricity: fire is magical and dangerous, beyond your control, and yet demanding of your complete attention.” 

A departure from her large-scale studio projects, Adelman’s oil lamps are designed to induce a collective ritual experience by drawing inspiration from sacred ceremonies and collective rituals while exploring perceptions of time and space. 

Adelman adds: “Oil lamps are the oldest lamp in existence, preceding electricity by over 6,000 years. Along with incense lamps in cathedrals, there’s this incredible history and mythology associated with their use in sacred rituals. I love that there is a power beyond the literal activity of what we can see–the idea of a collective of people dissolving into one energy, over a dinner party for instance. It’s a new type of ascension, a new mythology.” 

www.lindseyadelman.com