Designers often push creative boundaries, but few objects inspire as much experimentation—and sheer weirdness—as lighting fixtures. From ceramic lamps shaped like cars to metal swirls and cork UFOs, the latest designs redefine what a lamp can be.
The Head Hi Lamp Show, now in its sixth year, showcases 36 unconventional lamps from designers worldwide. Organized by Alexandra Hodkowski and Alvaro Alcocer, founders of Brooklyn’s Head Hi architecture bookstore and café, this year’s edition features curation by Stephen Markos of the design gallery Superhouse.
Alexandra Hodkowski and Alvaro Alcocer [Photo: Wade James Michael/courtesy of Head Hi]
The exhibition celebrates our universal relationship to light, design, and creative expression, and, more specifically, objects that have the ability to change our spatial understanding and tone our immediate atmosphere.
The lamps on display prioritize creativity and form over conventional aesthetics. Highlights include:
- A red metal frame lamp with a sky-print fabric shade by Malaysian designer Jun Ong.
- A paper sconce printed with figurative graphics by San Francisco’s Studio Ahead.
- A totemic marble piece by Venetian artist Giacomo Bianco.
- A ceramic lamp sculpted into a car by Hawa Al-Najjar (Mazhariyya Lamp, 2025).
- A metal fixture with swirling shades by Suna Bonometti (Solid Lace, 2026).
- A cork UFO-inspired design by an anonymous creator (outgoing, beacons, 2024).
From left: Hawa Al-Najjar, Mazhariyya Lamp, 2025. Suna Bonometti, Solid Lace, 2026. outgoing, beacons (scale-less-ness), 2024. [Photos: Aaron S. Cheung/Esto/Head Hi, Brooklyn]
From left: Bill Carroll, Landcruising, 2025. Clement Heyraud, Colonne, 2025. Emilia Schonthal, Lamp (Fragment), 2024. Narawit Christopher Gale (Kidtofer), H3LLR8SR, 2025. [Photos: Aaron S. Cheung/Esto/Head Hi, Brooklyn]
From left: Jun Ong, AERO LAMP, 2025. MMOOS., MOSTRO VII, 2024. John Gnorski represented by Studio AHEAD, Man Kozo Lantern, 2026. [Photos: Giacomo Bianco/Esto/Head Hi, Brooklyn (Mostro VII), Aaron S. Cheung/Esto/Head Hi, Brooklyn (others)]
The exhibition is open at Head Hi’s Brooklyn location and online from May 18 through October. All lamps are available for purchase.
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