Locus Lamp

One of the defining figures of postwar Italian architecture and design, Gae Aulenti (1927–2012) trained at the Politecnico di Milano and worked within the circle of Casabella-Continuità before building a career that ranged from furniture and lighting to major museums. Her best-known projects include the conversion of the Gare d’Orsay into the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and the galleries of the Musée National d’Art Moderne at the Centre Pompidou. Aulenti did not separate the object from the space around it, and her designs always had an architectural presence.

The Locus Solus series takes its name from Raymond Roussel’s 1914 novel. Aulenti designed it in 1964 for Poltronova, the Tuscan manufacturer at the centre of the Italian radical design movement. The floor lamp is built from lacquered tubular steel bent into graphic, Pop-inflected curves, with an adjustable head and a diffuser shade. Few pieces from the period show as clearly how strong colour on metal became part of the language of 1960s Italian design. Originally conceived for outdoor living, Locus Solus has become one of the most sought-after collections of Italian vintage lighting.

Dimensions
H: 175–208 cm (adjustable) x W: 35 cm x D: 60 cm