Christopher Baker launched The Field Lighting in October of 2019: a design atélier with a focus on creating unique light sculptures at his home on the coast of Brooklin, Maine. The work is produced in a 19th century barn, surrounded by meadows and woodlands and many of his designs are influenced by the botanicals found in that landscape. He lives there with his wife, Odette Heideman, a potter.

Known for his mastery of lighting technique, he has taken his 30 plus years as a photographer for still photography/cinematography and applied that knowledge to his vision of interior lighting. The designs use a complicated mix of point source and broad source light to create an infinite number of subtle diffusions. Deeply influenced by the lighting used in European cinema, Christopher has considered light in terms of its dimensionality: his interest lies in the shapes and tones that light can produce. As a photographer he has travelled widely, experiencing indelible moments in both interior and exterior settings in the world’s most beautiful spaces. This exposure has been a major influence on his design decisions in terms of making objects, but also in understanding how those objects inhabit and effect an interior landscape.

The Series 1 light sculptures reference the work of artists like Fausto Melotti, Diego Giacometti, Alexander Calder, Isamu Noguchi, Costantino Nivola and Barbara Hepworth, and the particular magnetism of traditional Japanese Shou-sugi-gan burnt wood. He commissions a very rare raw pineapple/silk fiber fabric from the Philippines for these lights. Fabric panels are often hand-dyed with Indigo and other natural plant dyes for this series. These fabrics are then constructed using kimono silk thread and combined on the constructed framework with paper panels to achieve a particular diffusion of light. Christopher uses antique Japanese fabrics like Kijoka-bashofu from Ogimi, Okinawa and others on several of the lamps in this series.

The Series 2 and 3 light sculptures have no direct artist references.  They are unique designs using wood, aluminum, silk from India, Japanese papers, dyes and inks. The Series 2 lights use polychord thread to construct the elements of the light frame. He views these constructions as sculptures that also serve to interpret and animate light, using smart rgb + white LED technologies.

All of his lights are original, one-off designs, made by hand at his studio in Maine. His lights are rated for LED light bulbs only.

He had his first show INTO THE LIGHT at Dobrinka Salzman Gallery in NYC on Nov 15, 2020. Many of his lights can be seen at the Gallery going forward. His work was included at SalonNY Art & Design 2021 & 2022. His work has appeared in Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Departures and other magazine to date.

He has done many commissions for designers, architects and private clients worldwide. Recent commissions have included locations like Hong Kong, Bangkok, Austrialia, New York City, Los Angeles, Texas, Florida and Canada.