Jeremy Anderson
“I find beauty in the perceived imperfections that actually give a piece character.”
Gallery FUMI at Galerie56
240 Church Street, New York, NY 10013
28th May – 3rd July 2026
By Adrian Madlener / 11th June 2026
Jeremy Anderson (foreground) with (left to right): Jose Marty and Lee Mindel from Galerie56; Valerio Capo & Sam Pratt from Gallery FUMI
COURTESY: Gallery FUMI
JEREMY ANDERSON FIRST gained recognition as the co-founder of the widely successful New York-based lighting brand Apparatus, but his true life-long passion has always been ceramics – turning the raw matter of clay into otherworldly yet functional objects.
Branching out a few years ago and establishing his own independent practice, the polymathic artist has created a cast of characters through a collection of luminaires and vessels that reflect his idiosyncratic vocabulary. These objects carry the imprint of Anderson’s hands at work, his freely playful yet contemplative application of lines, protruding fins and dangling finials. Yet always they are tethered to an implicit awareness of function; how a composition might hold and diffuse light.
Jeremy Anderson, ‘Jade Cabinet’, 2026; ‘ Serpent Sconces’, 2026
COURTESY: © The Artist & Gallery FUMI / PHOTOGRAPH: Ethan Harrington
In his current ‘Held in Light’ solo show mounted by London’s Gallery FUMI as part of its Spring/Summer 2026 residency at New York’s Galerie56, Anderson has taken his approach to new heights, experimenting with different scales and applications of material. The largest showcase of his work to date, this immersive exhibition reveals the full extent of his imagined world. As his exhibition opened, Anderson spoke to The Design Edit.
Exhibition view, ‘Held in Light’ by Jeremy Anderson COURTESY: © The Artist & Gallery FUMI
TDE: How does your process align with Gallery FUMI’s focus on talents who continue to reinterpret age-old craft techniques through a contemporary design lens?
JA: I love that Gallery FUMI keep their roster focused on people who engage with the materials they work with. I work with clay from the conception of an idea to full realisation of an end result. Working at the pottery wheel and rolling slabs of clay, mixing glazes and experimenting with different kiln-firing techniques, creating the plaster moulds and slip casting the porcelain shades, routing out graphite moulds and casting components from grains of bronze – it all happens in my studio. Having a relationship with raw materials and using traditional craft techniques to create things that are functional is incredibly fulfilling.
Jeremy Anderson, ‘Square Cocktail Table’, 2026
COURTESY: © The Artist & Gallery FUMI / PHOTOGRAPH: Ethan Harrington
TDE: How would you describe your approach to material and technique – as well as colour, pattern and texture?
JA: Shades of blues are my favourite. I love contrasting tones and surface textures. Like having a shiny white gold lustre next to the raw clay body that’s matte and earthy. The process of applying a repetitive surface treatment, be it the stripes or fins, is meditative for me, but there needs to be logic in it. I start from a single gesture and build from it to create a rhythm in the piece.
Jeremy Anderson, ‘Dining Table’, 2026 (detail)
COURTESY: © The Artist & Gallery FUMI / PHOTOGRAPH: Ethan Harrington
TDE: What does this latest collection reveal about the evolution of your practice?
JA: That I can make works of scale with materials of perceived heaviness and still ensure they feel uplifting and grounded. I feel like I have found a creative language through all the play and experimentation that resonates within me.
Exhibition view, ‘Held in Light’ with (left to right) ‘Vessel 46’, 2026; ‘Calla Table Lamps (Pair)’, 2026
COURTESY: © The Artist & Gallery FUMI
TDE: What were the challenges and benefits of returning to furniture and working at this scale?
JA: My works have always been made with the intention to serve a function. My first experience with clay 35 years ago was at a potters wheel, which is a production tool. I want to use the things I make. Scaling up to furniture was a natural progression. In the studio, the challenges come from having a kiln with an interior space that is only so big and our bronze components not exceeding a certain size. Everything becomes a giant 3D puzzle I need to piece together and assemble.
Exhibition view, ‘Held in Light’ with (left) ‘Space Relic (Brown and Ivory + Variegated Slate beads)’, 2026; (on table) ‘Piccolo 188’, 2026
COURTESY: © The Artist & Gallery FUMI
The materials I work with and what goes into making a piece take a tremendous amount of dedication and time. I hope people see this in the work and it challenges them to think about the things they choose to live with and how they were made.
Jeremy Anderson, ‘Libra Chandelier – Six Arm’, 2026 (detail)
COURTESY: © The Artist & Gallery FUMI
TDE: Why did you choose to interpret the daybed typology?
JA: I love a nook. It’s why I chose to have a high headboard and footboard. It’s a place where you can curl up and take a nap. It becomes a comfortable safe space for one or two people to be cosy.
Jeremy Anderson, (left to right) ‘Maribel Floor Lamp’, 2026; ‘Delphine Daybed’, 2026; ‘Jade Cabinet’, 2026; ‘Ostia Table Lamp’, 2026
COURTESY: © The Artist & Gallery FUMI / PHOTOGRAPH: Ethan Harrington
TDE: It feels as though there’s a nostalgic quality to the collection as well …
JA: I’m inspired by classic shapes and silhouettes, elements that have symmetry. Often, these points of reference feel very serious and I want to riff on that: how to add a touch of whimsy without it becoming gimmicky. How can I soften it with colour and let the happy accidents become beautiful details? Nothing is over-treated. The bronze is left as a living finish that will patina on its own with time.
I find beauty in restraint. When you actually look at how something is constructed, you uncover simple shapes that have nuance and evidence of the visible hand involved in their creation. Nothing seems overworked. I find beauty in the perceived imperfections that actually give a piece character.
Jeremy Anderson, ‘Round Mirror’, 2026; ‘Console Table (Maroon and Elephant)’, 2026
COURTESY: © The Artist & Gallery FUMI / PHOTOGRAPH: Ethan Harrington
Adrian Madlener is a Brussels-born, New York-based writer covering a wide range of design-related topics.
View all articles by Adrian Madlener
