Inside the Studio: Exploring Light & Architecture with Lisette Schumacher

We travelled to the Netherlands to meet Amsterdam-based artist Lisette Schumacher, as part of our latest project at Buchanan Art.

Meeting the Artist: A Visit to Amsterdam

Whenever possible, we love to champion artists who are local to the project. There’s something invaluable about working with creatives who have a lived connection to place, light and atmosphere. For this commission, collaborating with a Netherlands-based artist was essential to the brief, and from our very first conversations, Lisette felt like a natural fit.

Spending time with Lisette in her studio allowed us to understand more about her relationship with light, space and architecture, and how these elements shape her practice. Her work is deeply influenced by the way we experience buildings, not just visually, but physically and emotionally.

Lisette regularly travels throughout Europe and the USA to visit architectural spaces with historical and cultural significance. She studies how light moves through a space, how materials respond, and how architecture guides the body before the mind has time to interpret it.

Behind the Scenes of Our Amsterdam Collaboration

As Lisette shared with us,

“Architecture engenders a basic physical experience before it becomes an intellectual one. A good architect designs a space for you to experience — that’s very important for me. I use those experiences for my art.”

This approach was exactly why her work felt so aligned with our collaboration with Ekho Design Studio at Helix One, Amsterdam. Her sensitivity to light and spatial experience allowed the artwork to respond naturally to the building, becoming part of the environment rather than an addition to it.

Being in Lisette’s studio, surrounded by works shaped by travel, observation and memory, made us even more excited about seeing this project evolve. It’s always a privilege to connect directly with artists, to hear their stories, understand their process and build a shared vision from the ground up. Seeing that journey carried through to installation has been incredibly rewarding.

Championing Local Artists: Helix One

We can’t wait to show you the finished artwork in it's new home at Helix One and to reflect on how it will bring another layer of sensory experience to the space. Seeing it come to life has been something truly special — more to come very soon!