Bec Brittain gets ready to shine at Matter.

Next week, lighting designer Bec Brittain launches an exhibition of her latest works at Matter, a downtown Manhattan gallery. Inspired by the themes of natural phenomena—such as transparency and reflection—and the transformation of two-dimensions into three, the emerging talent’s new pieces carry on her penchant for detailed designs enlivened by a raw, almost austere beauty.

Brittain opened up her own studio in a red brick building in Red Hook, Brooklyn just two years ago. A former industrial design and philosophy major with architectural experience, she previously clocked time working for another NYC lighting luminary—Lindsey Adelman. According to Matter founder Jamie Gray, he knew Brittain was the real deal the first time he saw an early version of her very first lamp. “I’m pretty sure the first thing that came out of my mouth was ‘When can I have one?’ It was everything I love about lighting, but it was also severe, hard, brutal. I loved that it didn’t dance around this notion that lighting has to be pretty.”

Brittain sat down to speak with us about her new show.

Anna Carnick: How would you describe the experience of preparing for this opening and working with Matter?

Bec Brittain: It's always great working with Matter. Jamie Gray has shown a lot of faith in my work from the beginning. It's been a real luxury to be able to create exactly what I have in my mind's eye for this collection and know that I'll have support and a place to show it.

AC: Looking back, what can you tell us about the inspiration behind the first piece you ever designed for yourself?

BB:
 Aside from school work, the first piece I designed for myself was the SHY light. I have been interested in crystallography for many years, and the SHY light draws crystalline forms with lines of light. It was a sometimes frustrating but mostly satisfying process of trial and error; learning about how to be flexible when things don't quite go as planned, and how to make the leap and invest in custom parts to truly get the result you want.

AC: What was the original catalyst or inspiration behind the lighting pieces in this show? To your mind, do they mark a new chapter in your work and or process?

BB:
 This show is definitely a new chapter. The last couple years have been very engineering heavy, between figuring out the SHY light and Maxhedron. This collection of work is definitely more playful. I had the opportunity to use the kit of parts that I've made myself and see where else I can go with them, which resulted in much more focus on material and color—as opposed to the system-based thinking I'd been doing for previous work. I had a lot of fun picking materials and implementing a “more is more” attitude.

Portrait of Bec Brittain Courtesy of the designer
There is also a vein of thinking common to all the new work related to 2D shapes and how to apply them to 3D form. I have been finding myself really reacting to graphics and patterns lately, from Persian flat-weave rugs to Anasazi pottery, and I wanted to incorporate that inspiration in what I do, which is work with 3D form. In all the pieces, from Echo to Vise to the tessellated mirror on the new versions of Maxhedron, there is some element of repetition of two-dimensional shape to create a three-dimensional form.

Bec Brittain's Studio Courtesy of the designer
AC: What do you hope people will take away from the show?

BB: 
I hope that with this new work my vocabulary is becoming more clear; that my work is seen as a family of pieces that are exploring different ways to work with light and reflection. But I'm also really thrilled whenever someone just likes a piece with no explanation—it feels great to create desire.

AC: You opened your own studio about two years ago; how would you describe the benefits so far of working for yourself as opposed to working for someone else, or the challenges?

BB: 
I really am so lucky to be able to go to the studio every day and have my team help me realize my ideas. Every time something new comes together that was just a sketch a few months before, it feels magical. Making all the design and strategy decisions for myself, though, is simultaneously liberating and scary; I get the joy of my successes, but also am accountable if it doesn't go quite right. Thankfully, that gets easier every day, and I'm able to enjoy how fun it is to make things for a living.

AC: How do you think your background in philosophy and architecture manifests itself in your current work?



BB: Both philosophy and architecture rely heavily on problem-solving, but in very different ways. I think one of the most important things in design is flexibility in solving problems—how am I going to most effectively communicate the idea in my head? So I think I'm helped every day by having learned multiple ways to approach a situation.

AC: What's next for you?



BB: We've already started to plan for ICFF 2014—showing some fun collaborations and special new pieces—and I'm looking forward to seeing it all in one place!

Bec Brittain opens November 19^th, 2013 at Matter in NYC. 

• Text & Interview by

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    Anna Carnick

    Anna est la Rédactrice en Chef de Pamono. Ses textes ont figuré dans plusieurs publications d'art et de culture et elle a rédigé plus de 20 livres. Anna aime rendre hommage aux grands artistes et elle apprécie tout particulièrement les bons pique-niques.