Atelierlustig

Atelierlustig is a Miami-based multidisciplinary practice founded by Vanessa Lustig (Mexico, 1976) and Adam Lustig (USA, 1985). The studio operates across three interconnected domains: Studio (contemporary fiber and light art), Objet Porté (wearable ontologies), and Papercrane (psychology-informed artistic wellbeing research). The practice treats art not as a static product but as a living assemblage of “object-entities”. These are quiet, delicate, minimalist interventions in fiber, paper, silk, light, natural dyes, and custom programmed electronics that challenge the boundaries of human and more-than-human entanglement.

The core operation of the practice is cohabitation. Whether through hand-embroidered micro-pieces responding to real-time global ecological events, responsive light sculptures that breathe at human resting paces, or experimental jewelry that functions as a wearable extension of the body, the work asserts the studio motto: we can only be, not because we relate to others (humans), but because we relate to Others (more-than-human entities). Rooted in posthuman theory, Actor-Network Theory, and the study of artistic creativity, these works occupy the “in-betweens”: where emotion, intuition, and nonverbal interaction become the primary modes of communication.

The practice integrates rigorous theoretical inquiry with masterful craft. Drawing on Vanessa Lustig’s MFA with Distinction from the Transart Institute for Creative Research/LJMU and her background in photography and clinical psychology, alongside Adam Lustig’s expertise in gemology and collaborative fabrication, Atelierlustig produces works that are simultaneously quiet and challenging. The output ranges from pure photographic works (Paysages Pour des Insectes, Miccosukee View) to works on paper (Devise, Grounded, Lava), fiber installations (Light Object II, I Cannot Teach You About the Mushrooms, Chrysalides), interactive hand-felted sculptures (New Natures), and co-creation workshops that activate the viewer as a co-author.

The practice has maintained an international exhibition trajectory across France, Mexico, the UK, and the US, with works held in private collections in these regions. Residencies in Mexico and the US have served as strategic laboratories, accelerating the development of these object-entities and testing their cohabitation protocols in diverse contexts. Independent research periods in the Netherlands, France, and India have further shaped the studio’s methods. Atelierlustig works with one foot in the post-anthropocene, as a post-anthropocentric studio that invites the viewer into shared, more-than-human realities.