Lindsey Adelman’s Latest Work Was Inspired by a Meditation Retreat

Lighting designer Lindsey Adelman's latest venture began at a silent meditation retreat—a time of reflection that birthed a fresh spirit of experimentation. The result is LaLAB—a new platform focusing on bold one-off designs. "It's a refuge within the studio of discovery and surprise," she says of the initiative. "One where I get to bring the concept of illumination to an unexplored plane."

The resulting pieces, which are on display at Adelman's studio in Manhattan's NoHo neighborhood as part of the exhibition "Soft Opening: Under the Influence," range from delicate mobiles to kaleidoscopic chandeliers, seamlessly marrying a sense of intimacy with gravitas and scale.

Adelman's new LaLAB pieces are set against a dramatic backdrop that fosters a sense of both thoughtfulness and spirituality. A short film that she shot depicts mesmerizing Joshua Tree landscapes and serves as a reflection on the power and pervasiveness of natural light; a series of her paintings hang on the opposite wall, each done with Japanese brushes and inspired by the colorful geometries of Indian tantric artworks.

The launch includes three collections: Cages, Mobiles, and Rock Lights. Positioned among these new works in the installation are various "altars," which include carefully arranged feathers, stones, and fronds. Some even incorporate items from Adelman's studio, like ceramics, as well as aflame glass oil lamps. "I love the idea that any space can become a sacred one, depending on the way you use it," says Adelman of the altars.

That idea of individual totems carries into the Mobiles, which incorporate smoked glass, chain mail, and stones like amethyst, quartz, and malachite. The line feels highly personalized and individual, with different materials balancing out one another both from a practical standpoint and an aesthetic one. Raw stone silhouettes continue in Rock Lights, with smoked glass blobs that slump over selenite, jasper, and pyrite, mixing a refined, man-made material with a wholly natural one.

The final series in LaLAB, Cages, feels the most jubilant, incorporating glass orbs ensconced in brass rods (the "cage") with color palettes ranging from moody blues to bubblegum pinks. "I incorporated natural minerals for the metaphysical properties," says Adelman of the collection. "It's really just playing with and honoring empty space so that it's as important as the material."

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