A Legacy on Display
Richard Kelly was a pioneer who transformed lighting into a professional discipline. By blending theatrical techniques with architectural precision, he created the principles that shape how we experience the built environment today.
Essential Reading
The Structure of Light: Richard Kelly and Modern Architecture
A Global Journey
Tracing the Legacy of Light
From its debut in New York to major retrospectives across Europe, the Richard Kelly exhibition has served as a traveling masterclass. Each stop on this journey has redefined how we perceive the intersection of architecture, history, and illumination.
Preserving the Modernist Archive
The journey began at the Haines, Lundberg Waehler gallery in NYC. A curated collection of 37 original works was unveiled, marking the first formal effort to categorize and protect Kelly’s revolutionary design documents.
Defining Nocturnal Modernity
The exhibition took center stage at Lightfair and the IES Conference. These summits allowed Kelly’s principles to reach a new wave of professionals, cementing his theories as the gold standard for illumination.
Expanding the Academic Reach
Traveling to Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, the exhibition began its mission to reach academic audiences. This move allowed students and faculty to engage directly with the 37 framed pieces and panels, bringing Kelly’s legacy to the forefront of design education outside of New York.
A Contemporary Perspective
Returning to New York’s Center for Architecture, the show was completely redesigned by Laura Briggs and Elizabeth Donoff. This iteration focused on the lasting impact of Kelly’s work, connecting his historical theories with modern energy and sustainability challenges.
Crossing Continental Borders
In partnership with ELDA+ and ERCO, the exhibition traveled through Stockholm, Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, and London. This tour showcased Kelly’s influence on 20th-century icons to an international audience, proving that his vision of light was truly universal.
Current Location
A Permanent Home at Yale University
A Traveling Exhibition
Selected Works of Richard Kelly
In 1992 a committee formed by the New York Section of the IES undertook the challenge of selecting and preserving a group of documents which had belonged to the late Richard Kelly. The works had originally been researched by a student named Philip Cialdella, who was working on his Master’s thesis at Parsons School of Design in New York. These materials were then framed and organized into an exhibit highlighting the work and philosophy of Mr. Kelly. The committee was led by lighting designers Matthew Tanteri and Renee Cooley, who also wrote all of the accompanying text.
Selected Works of Richard Kelly contains a total of thirty-seven framed works and photo panels which display drawings, prints and photographs and are accompanied by labels, ten explanatory text panels and a catalogue brochure. Together these materials explain Kelly’s philosophy of light and his visionary approach to fixture design, building illumination and daylighting.
Many well known projects from Kelly’s impressive portfolio are included, such as, the Kimbell Museum of Fine Art and the Yale Center for British Art, Louis Kahn, architect; Philip Johnson’s Glass House and the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center, Philip Johnson, architect; and the Seagram Building, Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson, architects.
Texas Christian University Exhibition, 2000
The exhibit of original, museum-quality materials first opened at a gallery space in the offices of Haines, Lundberg Waehler Architects, in New York City, in May 1993. It was subsequently made available as a touring exhibit to schools and cultural institutions. It was shown in New York concurrent with Lightfair on 1994, and with the IES Annual Conference in 1995. It traveled to Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas in 2000.
Light/Energy/Impact: The Legacy of Richard Kelly: Center for Architecture Exhibition, 2006
In 2006, the exhibit was again in New York at The Center for Architecture as part of an event entitled “Light/Energy/Impact: The Legacy of Richard Kelly”. That show had a new look, which was re-imagined by architect, Laura Briggs, and editor, Elizabeth Donoff.
European Lighting Designers Association (ELDA+) and ERCO Leuchten GmbH Exhibition, 2007
In 2007, the exhibit was sent on a tour presented by the European Lighting Designers Association (ELDA+) and ERCO Leuchten GmbH, and shown in Stockholm, Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam, London and Vienna.
The Structure of Light: Richard Kelly and the Illumination of Modern Architecture, Yale School of Architecture, 2010
In October 2010, on the Centennial of Kelly’s birth, the exhibit went to Yale School of Architecture and formed a part of the exhibition “The Structure of Light: Richard Kelly and the Illumination of Modern Architecture”, which was held together with a two-day symposium of the same name.
Richard Kelly Archives at Yale
The entire Richard Kelly Archive, including the original exhibit materials, is now housed in the Yale University Library as part of the Manuscripts and Archives collection. These resources are available to researchers outside the Yale community who wish to make use of them.