Joe Colombo, for Oluce.

JOE COLOMBO (Italy, 1930-1971) for Oluce.
Floor lamp "Spider", 1965.
Chromed steel and lacquered metal.
Measurements: 146 x 28 x 28 cm.

Iconic floor lamp (Spider model) designed in 1965 by Joe Colombo for Oluce Italia. The design of this lamp adopts a minimalist look and was the first domestic lamp to use halogen bulbs. The diffuser is adjustable and gives both direct and indirect light.

This design won the gold medal of the "compasso d'oro" design award in 1967 and is part of the permanent design collections of the MOMA in New York and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, as well as the Milan Triennale, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Kunstmuseum in Düsseldorf and the "Neue Sammlung" Museum in Munich . The "chandelier" lamp (in its wall version) also appeared in the famous exhibition "Italy: The New Domestic Landscape" at the MOMA in New York in 1972.

The reflector can be pivoted and adjusted up and down the chrome shaft. The slot in the reflector reveals the elegant decorative bulb while allowing cooling so that the shade does not overheat. In addition to the floor lamp, the Araña model was produced in several versions: table lamp, wall lamp, ceiling lamp and a version with a clamp for attaching to table tops, shelves, etc.

Colombo was an industrial designer born in Milan. Before devoting himself to design (from the 1950s), he was a painter and sculptor. Some historians consider 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.