Artemide at Euroluce 2009

This year marked the 25th edition of Euroluce, the Biennial International Lighting Exhibition, the ultimate benchmark for the lighting sector. Euroluce, which occurred at the same time as the 48th edition of the I Saloni International furniture exhibition in Milan, embraced both technology and innovation and displayed companies from all areas of lighting from residential to technical and street lighting.

One of the most impressive stands at the Saloni was by Italian lighting giant Artemide.

Artemide has continued in the same vein this year by using Ross Lovegrove as designer for several of their pieces. Lovegrove's Mercury and Droplet suspensions and ceiling lamps made a splash when they were first introduced in 2007, and have been immensely popular ever since. The concept of the Mercury and Droplet suspensions is based on the reflective quality of the materials used. For example, the Mercury consists of several polished chrome pebbles, suspended underneath an aluminum disc. These pebbles in turn reflect light off of each other when the lamp is on, and when off, the mirror like quality of the pebbles reflects the environment around them, allowing the lamp to be both sculpture and lighting solution. The Droplet lamp on the other hand plays with light and shadow, recreating the effect of rippling water on the aluminum disc.

This year at Euroluce, Artemide introduced several other lamps by Ross Lovegrove such as the Cosmic Angel and Cosmic leaf lamps, as well as expanded further on the Droplet and Mercury designs by developing a wall lamp version. The Cosmic Angel consists of a complex undulated surface which was developed to capture light from several different sources. the Cosmic leaf lamp functions the same way, capturing light and shadow on its body. Both lamps use an indirect diffused light source with LED decorative RGB lights.

Another piece that captured people's attention was the Doride table and floor lamps by architect and designer Karim Rashid. The Doride is a lamp with a zoomorphic form that can be adjusted by the stem to change shape.

Through these new lamps, Artemide has introduced exciting and innovative lighting solutions into the residential and architectural lighting market that seem to combine both art, sculpture, lighting, and functionality.

Andrina Todaro