POLTRONOVA

Gherpe Table lamp plastic material red / Superstudio, 1968 - L 53 cm

This iconic ORIGINAL by Poltronova will always retain its value, being passed on to the next generation. Italian publisher Poltronova is the only company authorized to manufacture Superstudio's Passiflora Lamp. Published by Poltronova since 1967, Passiflora is still made in Italy today.

Founded in Florence in 1996, Superstudio is a leading group of radical Italian architects. Born of the counter-culture movement, this collective of Italian architects was one of the most influential architectural groups on the world scene until its dissolution in 1982. Superstudio sees architecture and design as levers for criticizing consumer society and the capitalist system. For the salvation of modern man, and not without irony, Superstudio advocates nothing less than "the destruction of the object and the disappearance of architecture". However, Superstudio's photomontages, drawings and texts are more utopian than object-oriented - a trend common to the whole of Radical Design. The members of Superstudio theorized and taught extensively, but produced very little furniture or objects. They campaigned for a "world without objects", but were nevertheless stimulated by the publication of some of their prototypes, such as the Gherpe and Passiflora lamps.

Exhibited in the world's greatest museums, the Gherpe lamp was designed by Superstudio and published by POLTRONOVA in 1968. It originated from a prototype produced for the "Superarchitettura" exhibition in December 1966. Strongly inspired by the British pop style, all curves and colors, the objects presented at this exhibition were intended to trigger a shock and shake up the interiors of the Italian bourgeoisie. Superstudio: ''Our objects were intended to bring a new aesthetic into the traditionalist world - in this case, the home. The latter was by no means the result of chance, but came from an absolutely realistic vision of merchandise and its codes, liberated a few years earlier by Pop Art: brilliant graphics, new colors and alternative materials. We wanted to highlight a new way of living inside our homes. ''

Featuring a sort of articulated shell, the Gherpe Lamp evokes a Navy creature. The shape oscillates between the natural and the artificial, in a Toy of allusions and ambiguities. The Gherpe Lamp is made up of six curved PMMA diffusers that unfold, criss-cross and fold at will, offering an infinite range of shapes and lighting effects. Superimposed layers of translucent Plastic create a variety of shadows and light projections. The six diffusers are attached to the Stand by two Black Bakelite spheres.

Highly innovative for its time, Gherpe is not a traditional table lamp. It's one of the first examples of an interactive luminaire to create a relationship with the user, who is invited to manipulate it.

Considered Italy's most avant-garde designer of the 20th century, POLTRONOVA was born in 1957 from the meeting between Sergio Cammilli and Ettore Sottssas, who became the company's artistic director. A figurehead of anti-design and radical design, Poltronova helped change the history of design with its experimental, non-conformist approach. Freeing itself from commercial constraints, POLTRONOVA was the receptacle of radical trends, giving a voice to those who challenged the system and wished to express their creativity freely. Backed by the greatest talents of the time (Gae Aulenti, Archizoom, Superstudio, De Pas D'Urbino & Lomazzi, Paolo Portoghesi, Angelo Mangiarotti...), they imagined collections that were joyful and colorful, and above all extremely non-conformist. With no standards (except those they invent), Poltronova has chosen to flout the laws of marketing in order to offer visionary, experimental designs that are now part of museum collections the world over. Poltronova embodies a spirit of freedom, a value that is more essential than ever.

In detail:

• Variation : Fluo red

• Brand : POLTRONOVA

• Designer : Superstudio

• Type : Table lamp

• Colour : Fluo red

• Material : Diffusers: laser-cut and thermoformed PMMA Plastic® - Fittings: Polished steel - Black Bakelite spheres

• Dimensions : W 53 x D 31 cm x H 38 cm
• Weight : 9.46 lb
• Characteristics : Design icon - Model designed in 1968 by Superstudio - Original piece signed by Poltronova (will always retain its value) - Made in Italy - Modular: 6 adjustable articulated diffusers - Direct or indirect light - Bulb (not supplied): 1 x E27 LED 10W max, 6400K - Permanent collections: MoMa, Triennale Design Museum, ADAM Museum Brussels
• Country of Manufacture : Italy