At this year’s Euroluce, the biennial lighting show collocated with Salone del Mobile in Milan, we encountered amazing, innovative, beautiful and quirky products in almost every booth. But if I had to narrow down my personal favorite exhibitors of the 2017 edition, I’d have to name the following 12:
Artemide
The manufacturer reprised a number of collaborations with major names in the international architecture community — Herzog & de Meuron and BIG to name two — but some of the lower-key collaborations also caught our attention. Among them was Calipso, designed by Neil Poulton, which takes inspiration from the moon. More precisely, an algorithm based on a photo of the moon dictated the fractal pattern of this matte-white techno-polymer ceiling luminaire. Whether switched on or off, the resulting design functions as a visually intriguing sculpture.
Arturo Alvarez
Ethereal, otherworldly and “alive” in appearance, the surface-mount and pendant luminaires of the Onn collection evoke organic forms found in the sea such as shells, corals, seaweed and even jellyfish. The pieces are constructed with painted stainless steel mesh, and the surface-mount model is suitable for both ceilings and walls.
While not really a lighting product, Conversas was another showstopper at Euroluce. This Arturo Alvarez–conceived artwork juxtaposes black stainless-steel mesh heads, installed near walls or on tabletops, with ordinary socket lamps that, when swaying, cast ever-changing shadows.
Conversas from arturo alvarez on Vimeo
Axo Light
Also shown at top
Two vastly different cylindrical designs from Axo Light rethink the ceiling fixture. First, the suspended, slim, elongated and rod-like Virtus boasts a dramatic look whether installed individually or in clusters. The 2.5-centimeter-diameter fixtures have single-point LED sources and are constructed of aluminum in anthracite gray with polished black or gold-nickel tip; rust-brown with polished black or gold-nickel tip; or all matte white. Installation is either recessed or with a canopy.
Meanwhile, Urban sports a short and thick jar-like body that can be suspended as pendants or surface-mounted directly onto the ceiling. Offered in varied sizes, the diffusers come in white, bronze or matte nickel.
Bocci
Always straddling the spheres of lighting design and experimental art, Bocci showcased visually striking products in gallery-worthy installations. Among them was the 76 series. Resembling a sea urchin suspended in water (at least, in my opinion), 76 is composed of white and clear glass with a copper mesh; a vacuum pulling the white layer through the mesh creates white “tendrils” suspended within each module. 76 is available as a wall lamp or in numerous pendant cluster configurations.
Flos
Slim wire and frame designs dominated at the Flos booth this year, and two in particular piqued our interest: Michael Anastassiades’ Arrangements explores the parallels between jewelry worn on a person and lighting adorning a space. The modular system thus combines geometric light elements (eight models total) in different compositions to evoke, for instance, a delicate neck chain. Each module is constructed of aluminum and finished in matte black paint.
Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec also collaborated with the Italian light concern this year for Verticale. This modular suspension system sports elongated aluminum cages that hold blown-glass cylinders. Finishes include gold, bronze, blue and red.
Forestier Paris
You might’ve noticed a trend in home décor stemming from himmeli structures, which are geometric shapes based on traditional Finnish Christmas ornaments. Ukrainian designer Kateryna Sokolova combined these motifs into intricate modern wire pendants and chandeliers of different scales and diamond-shape compositions for the Talisman collection. Powered off, the fixtures function as decorative mobiles; powered on, they cast some nifty shadow patterns.
Foscarini
The intriguing Satellight table lamp and pendant series, designed by Eugeni Quitllet, features a luminous blown-glass globe that seemingly floats within a void at the top of a clear-glass cone, as if to suggest captured light attempting to fly away. (Personally, it reminded me of a childhood pastime: catching fireflies in plastic cups before releasing them.) The table version comes in two sizes, and all models feature touch-dimmable LED lamping.
As a sidenote, every visitor (myself included) probably circled the massive booth attempting to snap a perfect shot of the clever Foscarini panel arrangement. Here’s the company’s professional photo for reference.
Inarchi
Slim, minimalist linear suspension lights are nothing new, of course, but Inarchi goes a step further by introducing luxury: Its Light Beam boasts a body composed of water-jet-cut carrara marble and Corian with an acrylic lens to diffuse the LED light source. In addition to single linear beams, the lamp can be specified in square and rectangular shapes with beautifully finished corners.
Karboxx
Building on its constellation-inspired Starlight series, Karboxx unveiled a new, customizable large-scale version — Starlight Giant — for direct mount to walls and ceilings or as a suspended luminaire. The geometric design is made of aluminum finished in white or anthracite and conceals the integrated dimmable LEDs.
Santa & Cole
Looking like the lovechild of HVAC ducts and Japanese paper lanterns, Tekio is an innovative flexible modular system that utilizes paper-covered modules attached via magnets. The modules can be installed as linear segments or arcs to create a multitude of shapes and compositions for walls or ceilings.
Seletti
Seletti has collaborated with some of the most celebrated product designers in the world to produce super-whimsical, quirky and hip lamps for walls, tabletops and the outdoors. At this year’s Euroluce, the brand didn’t disappoint. Most show-goers might have been drawn to Studio Job’s golden Banana Lamps and Marcantonio’s Monkey Lamps scaling the walls. But our eyes were fixated on a different critter holding bulbs: The Mouse Lamp, designed by Marcantonio, might just persuade you to find some charm in the rodent. Composed of resin, the lamp comes in standing, sitting or lying-down models.
Another quirky little lamp that caught our attention was Gio Tirotto’s Verso, which recreates a miniature straight-run staircase in aluminum and even features a movable sitting figure to encourage play. The task lamp works with a touch control to power on, power off and dim the LED light source.
Tonone
We love how the Ella floor lamp is at once dainty and sturdy in appearance. Its hand-blown glass shade is supported on a steel tripod frame with exposed hardware, emphasizing an industrial look. The stand comes in black or white with brass details.