To mark the launch of her new LaLAB venture, Lindsey Adelman just introduced new works in an installation at Alcova during Milan Design Week 2023. LaLAB is platform where Adelman can explore and share her experimental work outside the parameters of her regular studio practice. With zero boundaries, she’s free to play outside the box making pieces that are one-off, limited edition, or privately commissioned. The first round of LaLAB pieces includes three new series of illuminated works – Cages, Mobiles, and Rock Lights – all on display in Soft Opening from April 17 – 23, 2023.
Lindsey Adelman says: “LaLAB is a chance for me to push myself – to let the fantasy work come out. It is about raw development without attachment to outcome. I’ve long been interested in ‘the space between’ – the space between words, between people, between thoughts; the space between things, which is for me as important as the things themselves. LaLAB allows for the physical realization of these ideas; within the tension between what is there and what is not there, is an energetic realm full of opportunity and experimentation.”
The Mobiles come about through process with each of the seven designs comprising three to four precious components, all of which are crafted, sculpted, or hand-blown ahead of time. The components include raw minerals, slumped glass, ceramic spheres, and chains. Working as she goes, Adelman arranges the various objects into an assemblage that balances. The group of Mobiles reach almost 12 feet in height with elements dangling from the ceiling to almost the floor giving viewers an evolving composition depending on their perspective.
Adelman on mobiles: “I’m fascinated by the simultaneous stillness and kinetic energy of mobiles. They’re at once physically settled but also perpetually moving, embodying constant transformation. It’s a great reminder that everything moves. I’m also very interested in how mobiles create and hold space, allowing us to see what we’re unable to see, but somehow know. For me, the negative space is not a void – it is full of mystery, full of meaning.”
While the Mobiles have an organic flow, the Cages features angular frames that are precise and fixed. Each cage benefits from two frame profiles that double the visual interest. While similar in concept, the four Cages on display are quite different with a variety of frame styles and glass globes shapes.
Adelman on Cages: “I like to think of the Cages as a combination of the analytical and the emotional. They feel at once meticulously planned yet also not rational. The wildness and emotion of the glass form balances the rigidity of the structures.”
Displaying at a much smaller scale, six Rock Lights give nod to beauty found in nature. The organically shaped pieces feature hand-blown glass slumped over various minerals ranging in size from five to nine inches. The fixtures glow and work as functioning lamps while feeling like sculptures.
Adelman on Rock Lights: “I love that they are anthropomorphic in quality; as if the glass is the underbelly of a crustacean I’ve turned inside out, exposing the gooey innards which are meant to be protected. In exposing this essence, I’m exposing the most fragile parts we work so hard to protect – our fears, hopes, and desires – the very parts that connect us all inextricably.”
Lindsey Adelman at Soft Opening exhibition
Soft Opening will be on view at Room L1 at Alcova, Viale Molise 62, Milan from April 17 – 23, 2023 from 11am – 7pm daily.
Photography by Matteo Imbriani.
