"Electrifying Design: A Century of Lighting," a beautiful exhibition showcasing the dedication to design of curator Cindi Strauss and the MFAH.

If you live in Houston, TX, or if you go to that city before May 16, 2021, we recommend you to visit this thoroughly curated and beautifully showcased design exhibition focused on lights. Yes, lights! A simple design idea, highly functional but surprisingly poetic; specially under the guidance of Cindi Strauss–the Sara and Bill Morgan Curator at the Department of Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

The is the first large-scale design presentation in the United States to explore and showcase international lighting as a primary object—a catalyst of technological and artistic innovation at the forefront of new design movements.

Electrifying design at the MFAH with Achille Castiglioni lamps

The exhibition explores lighting as a transforming force in daily life expanding major design movements since the invention of electricity..

From the first electric light in the early 1800s to energy-efficient bulbs in the 21st century, lighting technology has fascinated engineers, scientists, architects, and designers worldwide. The exhibition not only explores all types of lights: from table lamps, floor lamps, and ceiling lamps, but also the bulb itself and the quality of its light and light effects–including “reflection, diffusion, and light-filled sculpture.”

For the exhibition, the MFAH published a beautifully designed exhibition book. This informative book, written by Cindi Strauss and Sarah Schleuning, introduces a timeline and topology structure, but also dedicates three sections to designers that focused their creative career to the advancement of light design: Poul Henningsen, Ingo Maurer and Gino Sarfatti.

Other designers included in the exhibition are: Achille Castiglioni, Joe Colombo, Christian Dell, DRIFT, Greta Magnusson Grossman, Verner Panton, Gaetano Pesce, Ettore Sottsass, and Wilhelm Wagenfeld.