Kazuo Motozawa for Staff Leutchten

KAZUO MOTOZAWA (Japan, 1945) for Staff Leuchten.
“Saturno” pendant lamp, Germany, 1970s.
Chrome-plated and lacquered metal.
In very good condition.
Measurements: 50 x 19 cm.
Pendant lamp designed by Kazuo Motozawa for the German firm Staff Leuchten in the 1970s, shown here in its narrow version, which further emphasizes the verticality of the piece. The most striking feature of the Saturn series is the slats that form the entire body of the lamp. These direct the light outward from the lamp, thereby highlighting the shape and structure of the lamp’s body. The piece is part of the Space Age design movement, a period in which lighting adopted a formal language inspired by aerospace technology, scientific exploration, and orbital imagery.
Kazuo Motozawa (Saitama, 1945) studied at the Musashino Junior College of Fine Arts and Music, where he graduated in 1968 with a degree in industrial design. He began his career at Yamagiwa, one of the most influential companies in the development of contemporary lighting design in Japan. He later directed the LD Yamagiwa Laboratory from 1977 to 1985, consolidating research focused on the relationship between light, form, and spatial perception. In 1987, he founded HALO Design Laboratory, where he continued to develop experimental lighting projects. His career has been recognized internationally, and his work has been widely exhibited in the field of contemporary design.
Staff Leuchten’s production of this piece is part of the company’s international expansion; the firm was founded in 1945 in Lemgo by Alfred Staff and Otto Schwarz. Having become one of Europe’s leading companies in designer lighting, the firm developed an extensive network of collaborations with manufacturers such as Stilnovo, Raak, and Lyfa during the 1960s and 1970s, making a decisive contribution to the spread of modernist lighting design. In 1994, the company became part of the Zumtobel Group, cementing its legacy in the history of European industrial design.