By: Jeremy Murphy

The Power of Lighting

For Bentley Meeker, light is more than a medium—it’s a belief system, a language, even a kind of magic. The acclaimed lighting artist has spent the last three decades exploring the intangible force that, as he puts it, can “change someone’s soul.” “I create art with light,” Meeker says. “Everything that you see is reflected light. Most art I’ve seen is either reflected off objects or uses light as a source. I’ve always been fascinated by what it actually is.” In Meeker’s world, light isn’t just illumination—it’s intention, it’s transformation, it’s presence. One client that understands transformation is the Museum of Modern Art, whose 2025 Party in the Garden was creatively lit by his company, Bentley Meeker Staging and Lighting. His firm has also designed lighting for the weddings of Chelsea Clinton, Robert De Niro, and Melissa Rivers, daughter of Joan Rivers.

Bentley House – He’s Igniting the Music World, Too

That obsession with the power of lighting has guided his work across film, theater, live events, and now, into the heart of the music industry with his latest creation: Bentley House. Located in Spanish Harlem, Bentley House is a sprawling 10,000-square-foot sanctuary for musicians. Behind an unmarked door lie four Dante-connected recording studios, including a main control room designed by acoustician George Augspurger and outfitted with a prized API 2448/40 console and rare microphones—including one once used by Walter Cronkite.

“The space is completely private,” Meeker says. “It’s designed for artists to disappear and create. There’s a garage entrance, full living quarters, even a chef’s kitchen. It’s not just a studio—it’s a home.” The guest list remains a secret to ensure privacy for the boldface names that record there.

Andy Warhol, Keith Haring & Jean-Michel Basquiat

Bentley House isn’t Meeker’s first brush with innovation. His career began in the most unexpected way: “I got kicked out of my father’s house and school on the same day when I was 18,” he says, laughing. “I walked into a theater at Hunter College just to clear my head. I saw people hanging lights. I asked if they needed help, and they hired me for six dollars an hour.”

That chance led to gigs at the legendary Palladium nightclub, where he worked with artists like Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat—before any of them were icons.

“We were just clueless kids helping with lights,” he recalls. “We had no idea we were part of history.” Bentley has also turned his creative vision into art, making light sculptures that have been shown at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the National Arts Club, and multiple downtown galleries. He has also helmed the lighting displays at the Burning Man Festival.  bentleymeekerart.com

Despite his pedigree, Meeker speaks more like a philosopher than a technician. “Lighting is about the intangibles,” he explains. “You can change a person’s feeling, their soul, their intention—just by the angle of a light, the intensity. Sometimes nothing changes physically, but everything changes spiritually.”

Those intangibles are why he’s earned the trust of so many high-profile clients. “Everyone wants to look better—that’s a given,” he says. “But the real artistry is in understanding what they’re not saying. I set the most benevolent intention I can. That’s what connects the visual to the emotional.”

Bentley House Rehearsal Studios

Trust is something Meeker has earned, not only through his technical skills but his ability to teach and mentor. “I’ve been able to enroll other people in what I believe about light,” he says. “It’s like teaching someone to speak a language that brings them joy. There’s a kind of magic in that.”

That philosophy extends to his newest Midtown West venture: Bentley House Rehearsal Studios, a 6,800-square-foot rehearsal space equipped with top-tier audio tech, a green room, a rooftop deck, and enough private entrances to satisfy the most elusive stars, including Lenny Kravitz. Yet despite the gear and grandeur, Meeker insists it’s never been about equipment. “Technology becomes the end objective for a lot of people. But for me, the art is in the intention,” he says. “The question isn’t just what you’re lighting—it’s why.”

Looking back on a career that spans tens of thousands of productions, Meeker doesn’t name a single favorite. “It’s the body of work,” he says. “It’s the team I’ve built. We have a shorthand. We speak the language of magic. That’s the real legacy.”

And can magic be taught? Only if you believe in it, Meeker says. “If you don’t believe in it, you can’t play in it. Some people walk in and say I’m full of it—and that’s fine. They’re not my tribe. But if you believe it? Then anything is possible.” bentleyhousestudios.com