In Lucid Dreams, costume became part of construction. Kuhlmann assembled an all-female team for the exhibition, including the welding, a field still commonly coded as male, and worked with Holle Schlickmann to dress steel structures in fabric. Cut cloth and tied edges sit around metal that still shows its welded seams; the softness presses against the steel’s glare.

Her lighting follows a related interest in contact: several pieces are activated by touch dimmers, placing the switch inside the relation between hand and object; others incorporate mobile, jewel-like details made with trained goldsmith Lisa Scherebnenko. Kuhlmann has described some works as “roommates”, which feels right for objects that share a room with you without becoming entirely well behaved. These works occupy the room as furniture and lighting, while keeping the social oddity of things dressed for their own private occasion.