We are creatures of light. For millennia, controlled fire was our only retort to the darkness that nature inexorably imposes. Today, our world is built around a bewildering variety of objects that emit light – but we have only just begun to discover the range of what is possible. To this end, I have enlisted over a dozen artists to expand the array of possibilities into new territory. I invited them to indulge their fantasies and create works that emanate ambient light in a manner that drives their highly specialized practices forward. At the heart of this endeavor, is the simple observation that light does not simply exist, it emanates from a source, and I crave a source that is worthy of manifesting the power of light.

The post-electrification history of light-as-sculpture summons a rich tradition of creative mavericks, innovators, and visionaries. First and foremost, I champion the foundational, late 19th century, relevance of Lewis Comfort Tiffany – a man renowned for artistic vision and excess. Several decades subsequent, in 1926, no less a visionary than László Moholy-Nagy conjured an early example of light emitting object as art, with his "Light Space Modulator".

Since then, many talented designers have engaged with light in an apparent effort to create sources as inspiring as light itself.  Some of these names may be lesser known, but their contributions are freshly relevant, among them; Serge Roche, Jean Royere, Paavo Tynell, Pietro Chiesa, Angelo Lelli, Isamu Noguchi, Roger Rougier, and of course, Ingo Maurer.

For the entirety of the fall season, for four months, I am dedicating one exhibition room to a rotating show of new, lighted objects by twenty artists. My goal is to delve deeper into this genre, with the fresh perspective of emerging talent, as well as outsiders whose work is nonetheless sympathetic to the medium of light. This first edition of "Lit" features twenty lights by seven wildly different artists, each taking an unusual and fresh approach to the form.

An exhibition catalog will be launched during the second installation of the exhibition in January.