Neon art and light installations

Neon as a medium — why glass still draws artists

Neon is usually linked with shop signs, but the same glowing line also works as an artistic material. A hand-bent tube can follow a signature, a geometric figure or a word in the artist's own hand. Light comes from its whole length, evenly — so glass neon art looks like a drawing in light, not a lamp.

Glass is also craftsmanship. Every bend is the craftsman's decision, so two neons with the same wording are never identical to the millimetre. In a one-off piece that is an advantage — the object is unique.

We write as a workshop in Rybie near Raszyn that has made glass neon since 2000, entirely in-house, with no subcontractors.

From a sketch to a glowing line

It starts with a sketch, a vector file or a photo of a model, from which we prepare a design and a visualisation before production. This is when the hard-to-reverse decisions are made: overall size, tube layout, glow colours and how the piece will be hung or stood.

Then the tube is heated over a burner and bent by hand, section by section, to follow the design. Filled with noble gas, it glows under voltage — hence the deep, vivid light and the halo around the glass.

Before leaving the workshop, the piece is switched on and checked in the dark — only then can you see whether the glowing lines match the author's intention. The full process is described in our article on how glass neon is made.

Glass or LED in art and in interiors

Glass neon is craftsmanship with a deep glow that lasts for years while keeping its full colour, and it works outdoors too. LED neon is a flexible light tube with diodes hidden under a diffusing material — it glows flat and evenly and is quicker and cheaper to make, but we recommend it for interiors only.

For a piece meant to stay in a collection, gallery or museum, glass usually wins: it is the original material, not an imitation. LED makes sense for a short event or a tight deadline. A full comparison is in a separate article. Below are typical works with gallery examples.

A museum installation — Museum of Polish History

For the Museum of Polish History we made artistic neon installations suspended from the ceiling — geometric orbits in white neon light. The second of these works is a set of suspended glass neons with an intricate geometric design, also in white. In both cases the neon carries no name; it is part of the scenography and the architecture of the interior.

A suspended piece is seen from many sides and levels, so every line must look right from below and from the side. The suspension must be secure yet discreet, so attention goes to the light, not the cables, and power must be routed without breaking up the composition.

Neon art in commercial and urban space

Reach For The Star is a glass neon star set in a housing with a one-way (Venetian) mirror. Reflections multiply the glowing letters inwards, giving it a depth a flat sign lacks — here precise fitting into the housing matters as much as the glass bending.

Neon Art is an artistic neon installation made for Joona Hurts, a designer from Norway. The colourful wording „your artwork is too complex” repeats in successive reflections, creating a depth effect, and the letters differ in colour and typeface. The piece shows that glass neon can carry even a very elaborate graphic design.

Wielka Warszawa, on Marszałkowska Street, is a neon designed by Arek Vaz — the author supplied the design, we translated it into glass and light. We also made a neon installation for the city of Września, and the artistic installation shown in our gallery in several views is controlled by a DALI digital lighting system.

Brand event installations — art for the duration of an event

Not every light piece is meant to hang for years. For Sephora's 25th anniversary we made an event wall with 3D letters and neon, complemented by neon circles and a neon comb in LED technology. Up close they become a backdrop for photos.

An event installation has its own logic: an opening date that cannot be moved, a short installation window and dismantling right after the end. A hall or a salon interior makes no weather demands, so LED neon is often the right choice here. If an element is to go permanently to an office or salon after the event, it is worth planning for that at the design stage — then glass will serve better.

Experience with museums — 130 neons for the Neon Museum

We restored 130 glass neons for the Neon Museum in Warsaw — exhibits from different decades and in very different condition, each of which needed its own decision: what stays and what is made anew. We cover the restoration itself in a separate article.

For a curator this is practical experience: we know how to handle an exhibit rather than a product.

Working with an interior architect

A light installation works best when it is part of the interior design from the start, not an afterthought. We advise on installation and formalities, and one contractor is responsible for the neon.

• —At the design stage: location, size and glow colour, matched to the interior's materials and lighting. A visualisation shows the effect before production.
• —Power and fixing: where the power goes, how cables are hidden and what the piece hangs on — wall, ceiling or housing. We make the electrical connections ourselves.
• —Control: switched with the rest of the lighting or separately — one of our artistic installations runs on a DALI system.
• —Installation and servicing: our own team installs, at height too, and provides servicing and maintenance afterwards.

How ordering a one-off piece works

The quote is free and carries no obligation. We start with a conversation about the idea and the place where the piece is to go. On that basis we prepare a design and a visualisation, and after approval the piece is made in our workshop near Warsaw — entirely in-house, with no subcontractors.

A one-off piece has no catalogue equivalent, so timing and scope are agreed individually. If an exhibition or opening has a fixed date, mention it first — it often decides the technology.

Artists who want to see their piece being made are welcome at our workshop in Rybie near Raszyn. We deliver the finished piece with our own transport and install it on site.

What to prepare — sketch, dimensions, display location

The more we know at the start, the sooner we can show a visualisation and a quote.

• —A sketch, drawing or vector file — for a hand-drawn line, a photo or scan is enough to begin with.
• —Approximate dimensions, and whether the piece hangs on a wall, is suspended or stands alone.
• —Display location — gallery, museum, commercial interior or urban space, indoors or outdoors.
• —The glow colours, or a description of the effect you are after.
• —Whether the piece is permanent, temporary or meant to travel between exhibitions.
• —The opening date of the exhibition or event and access to power on site.