From cloudscapes to cosmic forces, New Zealand designer Richard Clarkson continues to redefine atmospheric lighting.
Born in New Zealand and now based between Brooklyn, New York, and Porirua, designer Richard Clarkson’s practice occupies a space between art, science, and technology. His eponymous studio, established in 2014, is best known for its genre-defying lighting pieces — sculptural works that channel meteorology, astrophysics, and emotion into objects that feel part magic, part machine.
At the heart of the studio’s practice is the flagship Clouds collection — an interactive light and speaker system that mimics the look and behaviour of a thundercloud. The studio has since expanded the concept into an entire family of products.
The latest is the Cloudlet Mobile, a kinetic sculpture designed for smaller spaces. Suspended in a delicate, orbit-like configuration, the miniature cloud forms gently rotate.
Elsewhere, the studio’s work explores other atmospheric phenomena. Aurora is a series of light sculptures that evoke the northern lights — soft gradients of colour bending through motion and material.
The Constellation collection incorporates twelve intricate pendants in each of the zodiac configurations. “Staring up at the sky on a clear night is a spine-tingling experience, as calming as it is exhilarating. I have memories of walking the sandy shores of Waimarama Beach at night looking up and being able to trace the flow of the Milky Way, losing myself in the stars and for a moment moving beyond the human sense of scale and time,” Richard says.
Despite its international presence, the studio retains a thread of antipodean influence. Richard’s early studies in New Zealand and his ongoing connection to the southern hemisphere’s expansive skies and shifting light still inform his sensibility. These are objects to live with, and to watch; part forecast, part dream.
