Joe Colombo

JOE COLOMBO (Italy, 1930-1971) for Stilnovo
Suspension lamp "Hat", 1960s.
Metal enameled in white.
Measurements: 35 x 65 x 65 cm.

Joe Colombo designed this lamp for the Italian firm Stilnovo in the 1960s. Of large dimensions, in the shape of a wide-brimmed hat, it is enameled in white and constructed in two pieces. The upper part casts a soft light on the large shade.

Colombo was an industrial designer born in Milan. Before turning to design (beginning in the 1950s), he was a painter and sculptor. Some historians believe that it was Colombo who made Milan the capital of design. He designed flexible, compressed interiors with rooms that could vary in size and placement within a single floor. His futuristic vision led him to devise circular shelves that hang from the ceiling, glasses with an off-center foot so that wine and cigarettes could be held in the same hand. He believed in plastic as a modern, revolutionary and effective material. He began experimenting with new materials, such as reinforced plastic, and with novel construction techniques and manufacturing methods. His first design for Kartell was chair No. 4801 (1963-1964) in three pieces of plywood. Such a design inspired his later work with plastic, such as the Universale Chair No. 4860 (1965-1967), the first adult seat molded in injection molded plastic (ABS). He died at the age of 40 while preparing for a major exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.