Joe Colombo, Triedo lamp for Stilnovo

JOE COLOMBO (Milan, 1930-1971) for Stilnovo.
Space Age Triedo" lamp, 1970s.
Lacquered and chromed metal.
It shows slight signs of wear due to use and age.
Measurements: 62 x 30 x 30 cm.

The lampshade of the Triedo lamp is reminiscent of the corolla of a flower in bloom. It consists of three curved metal shades that surround the light source, projecting a soft and warm light. It was made in the 1970s by Stilnovo, a golden age for experimental design determined by optimism and forward-looking creativity. Its white lampshades are closely linked to the Space Age, the name given to the period when the space race was launched, starting in 1957 with the launch of Sputnik. This fever to conquer space also reached design, and during the sixties and seventies a decoration model was developed based on an idyllic vision of the future, and on everything to do with spaceships, new technologies and innovative materials.

Colombo was an industrial designer born in Milan. Before devoting himself to design (starting 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.