Established in 1945, Oluce’s history has been woven together with that of Vico Magistretti since the 1970s.
In fact, the designer was chosen to be Oluce’s art director and principal designer, designing numerous lamps for the company, all united by the same inspiring principles which have made these objects true icons of Italian design: the simplification of form and geometry.
A partnership which lasted thirty years, in which a unique and priceless story was written, one which brought meaning to Italian design, making it like none other in the world.
SONORA
Suspension lamp (1976)
Sonora is a big dome-shaped suspension lamp that dominates the space it occupies due to its huge size. It hangs from a barely visible cable, giving the impression of floating gently in mid-air. The story behind Sonora is that of a pure geometric shape, the hemisphere, pursued obsessively by Magistretti for almost thirty years and interpreted over the years in different sizes and a wide variety of materials. Originally in metal, down through the years this lamp has been redesigned in Murano glass and methacrylate.
Sonora embodies the conceptual design of Vico Magistretti in its purest form, a huge hemisphere created to mainly illuminate a table top. Initially made from steel, after experimentation with the process, it was then produced in aluminium and plastic.
Various manual details were also introduced for gold leaf decoration inside the dome, making sonora a true industrial craftsmanship object of italian design.
ATOLLO
Table lamp (1977)
Designed in 1977, over the years, Atollo has become the archetype of the table lamp completely revolutionising the way we imagine the classic bedside lamp. The geometric shapes that compose it – cylinder, cone and hemisphere – have resulted in a product that is decorative and essential at the same time, disconnected from the historical period and the fashions of the moment, and one that has now fully become one of the icons of Italian design in the world.
To celebrate its fortieth anniversary, some of the most important maestros of italian contemporary art have paid it homage. Paladino, Pistoletto, Cucchi and Spalletti have each created something based on the lamp itself that explains how they see art. The AtolloArte project has generated unique projects that make up an exquisitely artistic reflection.
An icon of italian lifestyle knowhow, atollo has become a fusion of art and design that explains quite masterfully the complexity of form and the problematics of the world that surrounds it.
PASCAL
Floor lamp (1983)
Pascal perfectly describes the Vico Magistretti’s design aesthetics: extremely pure geometric shapes, combined to create functional, symbolic compositions. In Pascal, the cone is enhanced by its repetition. At the end of the stem, supported by its Pietra Serena stone base, two overturned cones are positioned as if they were balancing one on top of the other, inside which the light sources are hosted.
The upper cone hosts a halogen light bulb and acts as a “luminator”, the lower one hosts two incandescent light bulbs and transforms the inclined walls above into perfect reflectors, therefore resulting in ambient light being directed downwards.
The celebrations for what would have been Vico Magistretti’s 100th birthday resume in Prague after having been suspended due to the coronavirus. The Italian Cultural Institute has relaunched the “100 Years of Vico” exhibit, which will be open to the public until 28 May. |