I am a multi-media artist whose work has crossed the borders of fine arts, design, and research. Since 2000, my studio work has focused on how art can impact well-being, both for the artist and the viewer. By merging light and art, exploring the relationship between art and technology, and, more importantly, its impact on the viewer, my studio practice is connected to ongoing research on how integrating dynamic light in artwork can create a deep engagement with the viewer.
This journey is rooted in my passion for creation, fueled by the tactile pleasure of manipulating materials and my interest in the sciences, further enriched by research into the psychological and physiological effects of imagery, light, and color on viewers. Over the years, I have dedicated myself to mastering technologies that enable the manipulation of light and its integration with traditional art mediums such as oil, watercolor, pastel, and charcoal. This has led to a delicate balance of medium and materials in response to light as it interacts with or reflects off their surfaces, sparking intriguing questions about the potential of dynamic art to communicate with us, captivate, stimulate, soothe, and heal.
In addition to my studio work, I am also a Professor of Industrial Design, with fifteen years teaching at Parsons School of Design and now thirteen years at Thomas Jefferson University (formerly Philadelphia University). I am also the founder and director of the Jefferson Center of Immersive Arts for Health, an initiative to investigate the impact of dynamic and interactive art on health.
Lyn Godley is a multi-media artist. Her designs, done as a partner of Godley-Schwan (1984-1998) and individually as Lyn Godley Studio (1999-Present), have been exhibited internationally and are in numerous international museums and private collections, including the Museum of Modern Art NYC. Since 2000, her studio work has focused on merging light and art, exploring the relationship between art and technology and its impact on the viewer. Her studio practice is linked to her research on how integrating dynamic light in artwork can create a deeper engagement by affecting both the environment and the user. Her work merges painting and new media for public settings. Ultimately, Godley’s artwork creates a rhythm and sense of peace to which one can surrender.
In addition to her studio practice, Godley is a full-time Professor of Industrial Design at Thomas Jefferson University, where she has developed cross-disciplinary curricula in Lighting Design with a focus on Light and New Media as Experience. She is also the Director of the Jefferson Center of Immersive Arts for Health, an initiative researching the impact of dynamic light and interactive art on health. She has spoken at National and International conferences on Light and Health, Arts and Health, and Lighting Design Education.
1980
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
MFA
1978
Ohio State University
BFA
2015
NAP Connections “Shedding Light on Healing” TV interview. BCTV, Manhattan Cable, Drexel DUTV.
Orton, Maddie “Tech-Based Art Takes Over Rowan University Art Gallery”, NJTV News, January 30, 2015
2014
Becherer, Joseph “Ford Museum presents Technically Impressive Works,” M-Live, September 24, 2014
2013
Sapunar, Dora “Kickstarting Fiber Optic Art”, Metropolis Magazine, October 2013
Brill, Louis “Thought Process: Linear Light for the Creative Arts”, Professional Lighting Design. July 2013
2011
“Ins helle Licht fliegen (Fly into the Bright Light)”, Kolnische Rundschau, October 2011
2010
“More Serious Business” Northhampton Community College, the Morning Call, September 2010
Shira, Ron “Confronting Nature Conceptually, with Innovation at the Freedman Gallery,” Reading Eagle, June 2010
2009
Baker, Maggie “Solid-State offers a New Tool for The Art of Lighting,” Architectural SSL, October2009
2004
Stahl, Julie “Dish; International Design for the Home,” Princeton Architectural Press, 2004
2002
Byers, Mel, The Design Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition, Museum of Modern Art, 2002
Miller, Craig, US Design 1975-2000, Denver Art Museum, Prestel Publishing, 2002
“Museum of Modern Art Profile on Terence Riley, Lyn Godley, & Karim Rashid”, U-Way Japan, July 2000
1997
Byers, Mel, 50 Lights, RotoVision, 1997
In Flight, Exhibition Catalog, Sponsored by MultiArt International , Cologne, Germany 2011
2004
Playing The Field: the art + design of Godley-Schwan, Sponsored by the Design Center at Philadelphia University
2000
Defining Craft: Collecting for the New Millennium, Exhibition Catalog, American Craft Museum
2015
Crinkle Lamp, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
2003
Miracle Commissioned for Centennial Exhibit, The Jewish Museum, New York, NY
2002
Totem Floor Lamp, Otto Cabinet, Design Deptartment, Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
2000
Crinkle Lamp, Museum of Art & Design, New York, NY
1998
Crinkle Lamp, Architecture + Design Department, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Jenette Kahn, former Pres. of DC Comics, Current President/ CEO of Double Nickel Entertainment
Pedro Almodóvar
Bruce Lewin, Owner of Bruce Lewin Fine Arts Gallery, New York, NY
Steve Shane, Art Collector
2011 - present
Associate Professor, Philadelphia University, Philadelphia, PA
2010
Guest Faculty, KISD Koln International School of Design, Cologne, Germany
2005
Judge, Collab Student Design Competition, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
1998 - present
Owner, Lyn Godley Design Studio, specializing in lighting design/art installations
1997 - 2011
Faculty, Parsons School of Design, New School University, New York, NY
1984 - 1998
Partner, Godley-Schwan, Specializing in furniture and lighting design
2015
Light Wrap, Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts, Bethlehem, PA
2014
Finalist, Percent for Art Project, Sugar House Casino, Philadelphia, PA
Pending final decision
Finalist, Philadelphia Family Court Public Art Project, Philadelphia, PA
2013
“Dew-mi O’my,” LVHN – Cedar Crest Hospital, Allentown, PA
2008
LED lighting installation Thought Process, The GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, Reading, PA
2015
Speaker, "Light in Art," KISDtalk, Koln International School of Design, Cologne, Germany
2014
Presenter, Global Alliance of Arts+Healthcare International Conference, Houston, TX
2009
Lecturer, "Use of LEDs in Art," ArchLED Conference, Chicago, IL
2014
Behind the Veil, Gallery at International House, Philadelphia, PA
Lyn Godley: Light and Art, Freyberger Gallery, Reading, PA
2013
InFlight, Le Meridian Hotel, Philadelphia, PA
2011
In Flight, Gallery 68, Cologne, Germany
2010
Lyn Godley, Moravian Academy, Bethlehem, PA
2009
Lyn Godley, Goggleworks Center for the Arts, Reading, PA
2004
Playing the Field, Retrospective of Godley-Schwan (Lyn Godley & Lloyd Schwan), The Design Center, Philadelphia, PA
2015
Mindful, Society for Contemporary Crafts, Pittsburgh, PA
Invitational
Simulate/Permeate, Rowan Gallery, Glassboro, NJ
Invitational
2014
Artprize, "WaterWall," Gerald Ford Museum, Grand Rapids, MI
2012
Design Lab: Fusion of Science & Style, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia PA
2010
More Serious Business, Northampton Community College, Bethlehem, PA
Nature with a Twist, Freedman Gallery, Reading, PA
Seeing Voices: The Visual Voice, Rutgers Gallery, Camden, NJ
2009
Generations, Sharadin Gallery, Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA
2004
Collective Perspectives: New Acquisitions, The Jewish Museum, New York, NY
2003
US Design 1975-2000, American Craft Museum, New York, NY
Transformations: New International Design, Parsons Gallery, New York, NY
Simple + Direct: An Investigation in Furniture Design, Design Center, Philadelphia PA
2002
Defining Craft I: Collecting for the New Millennium, Davenport Art Museum, Davenport, IA
2000
Light X Eight, The Jewish Museum, New York, NY
Defining Design, American Craft Museum, New York, NY
(catalog)
1993
American Design Exhibit, Venice Biennale, Venice Italy
1991
Salone de Mobili, Milano, Italy
2013, 2014
POST, Philadelphia, PA
2007 and 2012
Sotheby’s 20th Century Design Auctions, NY, NY
