For the first edition of Neu Cöln, kammer presents a new body of work by Canadian artist Ben Schumacher, developed in collaboration with designer Felix Taylor.

Schumacher’s practice has long included fabricated, furniture-like forms, though these previously appeared as sculptural components within larger installations and without practical function. Since late last year, he has begun developing works with Taylor that also operate as usable objects. In this series, the structures function as light sculptures — autonomous artworks that can simultaneously serve as light sources.

The works take the form of layered assemblages: cut and bent anodized aluminum sheets combined with lighting components, printed images and small studio materials, which are fixed in place with epoxy poured across the surface.

Though they include integrated light sources, they are not dependent on illumination; the electronic elements operate as one layer among others. The pieces can be installed in multiple orientations — mounted on the wall or shown resting on horizontal surfaces or suspended from the ceiling — and function both as sculptural objects and as assemblages that echo a painterly logic.