Ex-Tech Lamps are the creation of assemblage artist, Ian Kelly a UK native, who finds inspiration in unusual pieces of discarded technical and industrial equipment. Ian has been "polishing" his craft in the metal restoration arts for over 15 years at his business, Santa Cruz Metal Polishing and uses many of the skills acquired there in the construction of these meticulously hand crafted original lighting fixtures. The French artist Jean Dubuffet first used the term assemblage to describe a method of turning found objects into three-dimensional structures. Ian has taken this idea to a higher level, turning found items into functional art lamps. The fantastical nature of these unique assemblage art lamps ranges from whimsical occasional lamps to impressive towers of illuminated assemblage art.
With the soul of an artist finding himself in a new age, he has embarked on the path of recycling high technology gizmos and elaborate components into fantastic lighted art sculptures using materials both everyday and exotic. As you will see in the photos of these one of a kind sculptural lighting fixtures, Ian possesses an imagination far beyond ordinary, with flashes of brillIance - pun completely intended.
The artist known as Ian Kelly is a son of England and a product of his various environments and life experiences. With large doses of varied cultural influences ranging from the make-do-bootstraps workaday of post WWII England, the hardscrabble knockabout bohemIan age which followed and a healthy dollop of intellectual eclecticism combined with wildly creative American idealism. This unusual combination of theory and practice embraced the artist firmly, resulting in this series of remarkable assemblage art, functional and fascinating.
We hope you enjoy browsing the images and charming descriptions of Ian's original art lamps!
 THE WELCH VAC PUMP LAMP |
 THE AIR CLEANER LAMP |
 THE COMPRESSOR LAMP |
 THE MINI ME COMPRESSOR LAMP |
 THE VARIAN LAMP |
 THE KILLARK LAMP |
 THE QUARTZ LAMP |
 THE PROVAC LAMP |
 THE DISC LAMP |
 THE NITE LITE |
 THE CAPSULE LAMP |
 THE ROCKET LAMP |
 THE COOLHEAT SPACE HEATER |
 THE GOOSENECK DESK LAMP |
 THE VANITY LIGHT |
 THE DESK LAMP |