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 the paintings of Piet Mondrian, an elegiac passage from Camus’s “The Fall” and the spidery brilliance of Giacometti. Ever since the debut of the Branching Bubbles chandelier, the first product made in her newly opened studio in 2006, her goal has been to transform the ephemeral nature of light into something not merely tangible but enduring. 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.
Lindsey Adelman
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Her aesthetic reflects an untraditional background. While she sketched constantly as a child, she studied literature in college and began her career working on catalog text at the Smithsonian museums. It was there, watching an artisan carve a lifelike french fry out of Styrofoam, that she first discovered industrial design and knew instantly it was her future. Within days she applied to the Rhode Island School of Design. Today, history, poetry, architecture and modernism continue to inform her designs. Her work has been shown at the Cooper Hewitt Museum, Design Miami and Milan’s Nilufar Gallery.
Selected Exhibitions
THE FUTURE PERFECT: DESIGN MIAMI/ 2025 Exhibition
THE FUTURE PERFECT: DESIGN MIAMI/ 2025
December 2 - December 7, 2025
The Future Perfect Design Miami 2024 Exhibition
The Future Perfect Design Miami 2024
December 3 - December 8, 2024
C.V.
Solo Exhibitions
2025 “The Hardware Diaries” – The Future Perfect, New York, NY
2024 “A Realm of Light” – TIWA Gallery, New York, NY
2023 “Soft Opening” – Alcova, Milan
2021 “Paradise” – Alcova, Milan
2019 “Paradise City” – Design Miami, Basel
2017 “The Edge of What We Know” – Design Miami, Miami, FL
2016 “Ambrosia” – The Future Perfect, New York, NY
2015 “Show Me” – Wright Gallery, New York, NY
2012 “Dusk to Dawn” – The Future Perfect, New York, NY
2010 “Design Miami” – Matter, Miami, FL
2007 “Hairwork” – Denise Bibro Gallery, New York, NY
Group Exhibitions
2025 “Design Miami” – The Future Perfect, Miami, FL
2022 “Drawings You’ve Never Seen” – Egg Collective, New York, NY
2019 “Annex Gallery at PULSE” – BDDW Gallery, Miami, FL
2018 “Group Exhibition” – Nomad with Nilufar Gallery, St. Moritz
2017 “Collect: The International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects with Fiona Barratt-Campbell” – Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
2017 “Florine Stettheimer Collapsed Time Salon” – Deitch Projects, New York, NY
2017 “Room with its Own Rules” – Chamber Gallery, New York, NY
2017 “Our Flag: Design Stands Together” – R&Company, New York, NY
2017 “The Glorious Object” – Patrick Parrish Gallery, New York, NY
2017 “Design Triennial” – Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, New York, NY
2016 “The Nature of Motion” – Nike Freelab, Milan
2016 “SQUAT London” – Nilufar Gallery, London, UK
2016 “Design at Large” – Design Miami with Nilufar Gallery, Basel
2016 “Group Exhibition” – Design Miami with The Future Perfect, Miami,FL
2015 “Design Days Dubai” – Carwan Gallery, Dubai
2015 “Pavillon De L’esprit Nouveau” – Swiss Institute, New York, NY
2015 “Le Corbusier+Jeanneret Collection, Lighting Design” – Wright, New York, NY
2015 “PAD Fair” – Nilufar Gallery, London, UK
2015 “Salon Art + Design” – Nilufar Gallery, New York, NY
2015 “FOG fair” – Cultured Magazine, San Francisco, CA
2014 “Group Exhibition” – Nilufar Gallery, Milan
2014 “NYC Makers: The MAD Biennial,” – MAD Museum, New York, NY
2014 “Design Miami” – Nilufar Gallery, Miami, FL
2014 “The Process Lab” – Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, New York, NY
2014 “Group Exhibition” – Nilufar Gallery, Milan
2013 “Group Exhibition” – Nilufar Gallery, Milan
2013 “Keep it Glassy” – Shanghai Museum of Glass, Shanghai
2013 “After the Museum: The Home Front 2013” – MAD Museum, New York, NY
2013 “Nomadic Furniture” – MAK Austrian Museum of Applied Arts, Wien, Austria
2013 “SPOT Paris” – Nilufar Gallery, Paris, FR
2013 “SQUAT Beirut” – Nilufar Gallery, Beirut
2013 “FOG Fair” – The Future Perfect, San Francisco, CA
2012 “Contemporary Perspectives in Middle Eastern Crafts” – Carwan Gallery, Milan
2012 “Cheongju International Craft Biennale” – Cheongju, South Korea
2012 “Art Geneva” – Ormond Editions, Geneva
2011 “American Design in Paris” – Triode, Paris, FR
2010 “Group Exhibition” – Design Miami, Miami, FL
2010 “Secret Garden” – The Future Perfect, New York, NY
2009 “Milan Does Beirut” – Carwan Gallery, Milan
2008 “TechnoCraft curated by Yves Behar” – Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Publications
2024 “Designed for Life: The World’s Best Product Designers” – Phaidon
2024 “1000 Design Classics” – Phaidon
2021 “Woman Made: Great Women Designers” – Phaidon
2011 “Lux: Lamps and Lights” – Gestalten
2004 “Dish: International Design for the Home” – Princeton Architectural Press
2003 “Inside Design Now: The National Design Triennial” – Princeton Architectural Press