Lee Broom Transforms Diez Company into a Luminous Narrative
For two decades, Lee Broom has masterfully redefined light, elevating it from mere utility to a profound sculptural medium. Now, the acclaimed British designer marks a significant milestone with his inaugural major presentation in Latin America. Coinciding with Mexico City Art Week 2026 and ZSONAMACO, “The Resident” is an immersive, site-responsive installation unveiled within the architecturally rich interiors of the Diez Company house.
Born from a residency at the Diez Company, this exhibition transcends conventional display, transforming the historic showroom into a captivating tableau. Over 50 works converge, blurring the lines between collectible design, contemporary art, and spatial theatre. Developed in close collaboration with Diez Company – led by Gina Diez Barroso and Rodrigo Fernández, whose house has been Broom’s Mexico City home since February 2025 – “The Resident” is less an exhibition and more a meticulously orchestrated journey through light and form.
A Vertical Ascent into Illumination
The installation’s core gesture is a breathtaking verticality. At its heart, a monumental cascade of light commands the central atrium. The iconic Hail Chandelier dramatically descends through the soaring stairwell, its composition exploiting the full architectural height. This singular intervention immediately defines the exhibition’s character, drawing visitors upward along a luminous axis. The stairwell itself becomes both a vital circulation route and a theatrical stage, choreographing the viewer’s movement room by room – a characteristic stroke of ambition from Broom.
Moments of Quiet Contemplation: The Requiem Series
In contrast to the grand vertical drama, Broom’s Requiem series introduces a register of ethereal stillness. Displayed throughout the house, including a newly launched wall sconce, these pieces are hand-sculpted by the designer in draped plaster. Their forms evoke fabric frozen mid-fall, with light emanating from within folds reminiscent of classical draperies. These installations, in intimate dialogue with the architecture, provide poignant moments of pause and contemplation, offering a delicate counterpoint to the chandelier’s theatrical scale.
Eclectic Spaces: From 70s Chic to Natural Radiance
Among the most striking transformations is a reimagined tiled bathroom, resplendent in matte gold. Here, Chant chandeliers and Chant portable lamps are arranged in a disciplined grid, mirroring the tile geometry. The result is a chic, playful space imbued with a distinct 1970s sensibility – an exuberant yet controlled reference, balanced by Broom’s precise spatial orchestration.
The conservatory, by contrast, acts as an atmospheric inverse. Bathed in natural daylight, it centers on a King chandelier whose brushed gold leaves refract and scatter light across the room, creating shifting reflections that dance with the sun’s movement. Where the bathroom revels in surface and sheen, the conservatory feels animated by light itself, a testament to Broom’s nuanced understanding of illumination.
Expanding the Narrative: Collaborations and Cultural Dialogue
Recent collaborations further enrich “The Resident”‘s narrative. The Overture collection, created with Calico Wallpaper, introduces trompe-l’oeil drapery motifs that elegantly echo the folded forms of the Requiem series. Meanwhile, Cascade – Broom’s exquisite porcelain lighting series for Lladró – extends his exploration of suspended luminosity into a distinct material language. These works collectively reinforce the installation’s broader dialogue between craft, illusion, and sculptural presence.
In a thoughtful celebration of Art Week and Mexico’s vibrant creative culture, “The Resident” also integrates works by Mexican artists, carefully curated by Broom in collaboration with Diez Company. Materials such as stone, travertine, and marble are subtly woven throughout the house, while spherical details and strong rectilinear compositions echo Broom’s own formal vocabulary. These silhouettes engage in a quiet conversation across rooms, deepening the sense that this is more than just an exhibition; it is a profound cultural dialogue.
By transforming the Diez Company house into this sculptural tableau, Lee Broom achieves more than merely exhibiting lighting; he stages a lived-in meditation on gravity, material, and the transformative power of glow.
For more information on Lee Broom and his collaborators, visit leebroom.com and diezcompany.mx. Photography by Ema Peter Photography.
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