Robert Sonneman

ROBERT SONNEMAN (USA, 1943) for Luci Cinisello.
Floor lamp P395. ca.1970.
Metal.
Measurements: 140 x 25 x 25 cm.

Floor lamp designed by the North American Robert Sonneman for the firm Luci Cinisello of Milan in the 1960s and 1970s. The structure is entirely of metal and responds to the minimalist design characteristic of the author.

Robert Sonneman specialized in the design of avant-garde lamps. At 19, fresh out of the Navy, Sonneman answered an ad to work at George Kovacs' studio on Manhattan's Upper East Side, where he became the sole employee. "Although my parents were in lighting, they had a traditional perspective, and Kovacs introduced me to modernism," Sonneman once said. "It was 1961, and I was immediately captivated by the movement." While working for Kovacs, Sonneman became captivated by the work of the Bauhaus, and began experimenting with the influential art and design school's ideas of functional simplicity in lighting. In 1967 he opened his own studio. Although Sonneman Design Group manufactured furniture for a brief period, the designer eventually decided to focus on the category that had always fascinated him; the brand became known for its floor lamps, sconces, pendants and chandeliers that feature unconventional treatments of form and balance, often inspired by modern architecture. Sonneman once said of his work, "I saw the lamps I built as lighting machines that glorified industrial aesthetics."