The philosophy of the new NEMO Lighting showroom, inaugurated for Milan Design Week 2026, overturns the perspective: light is no longer a technical object to be displayed, but a living architectural element that shapes the space and offers the visitor an all-encompassing experience. The project, conceived by the creative mind of Ron Gilad, renews the dialogue between the Milan-Tel Aviv-based artist and designer and the brand, bringing to life a “field of light” in the beating heart of the city, at the new address of Via Santa Cecilia 4a.
Upon crossing the hidden threshold, the visitor does not find themselves in a traditional store with a linear path, but in a main gallery that opens onto a sequence of subspaces. An imposing central wall acts simultaneously as a divider, a gateway, and a treasure chest of hidden gems. Movement is free, non-prescriptive, inviting continuous rediscovery of fragments of light and lighting objects through an arcade of seemingly endless arches.
The paradox is revealed upon descending to the basement level. Here, contrary to all expectations, one finds oneself in a “penthouse” that houses a mini-gallery, a cozy lounge, and a light laboratory for the group’s technical division. It is in this play of contrasts that the project expresses its deepest soul.
Light itself becomes an artistic subject. Just as it has accompanied the history of art, from the Renaissance technique for creating atmosphere to a raw material in modern art, here, the lamps take center stage. Hung on canvases like paintings, standing as sculptures in the space, or appearing on video screens, they transform the design object into an artistic subject and the artistic principle into a functional design element. Beneath the apparent minimalist clarity lies a “quiet surrealism,” hidden under a “well-tailored Italian suit.” Ideas, as the concept explains, bounce like a ping-pong ball between rubber walls: restless, irrational, and continuous, generating unexpected encounters with light.
But the true magic of the space reveals itself after opening hours. When night falls, the showroom continues to live. Video fragments projected towards the street, signs that emit riddles in the form of haikus, and the ability for passersby to interact with the light through the glass vitrines transform the space into a permanent urban installation, a luminous dialogue with the city.
This vision is the distillation of a long creative process, as Gilad himself explains: “The project is shaped by years of observation, reflection, and practice. Ideas emerge intuitively, guided by common sense and filtered through a personal—occasionally eccentric—lens. They are allowed to flow freely, without the need to construct a grand narrative. What remains is a simple position: I do not write stories. I design.” A statement that is the perfect synthesis of a space that does not tell stories about light, but brings it to life.
