For all the people who think designer objects need to make bold statements with attention-grabbing forms and materials, the revered British designer Jasper Morrison has a message: The quieter objects are often the better products.
Some of Morrison’s earliest creations, such as the 1986 Thinking Man’s chair, with its snaking tubular steel armrests, and the 1991 3 sofa deluxe, whose sculpted seat resembles an enormous wave (both produced by the Italian manufacturer Cappellini, one of the planet's preeminent producers of cutting-edge home decor), display the eye-catching moves that were expected among his contemporaries.
At the same, Morrison was clearly searching for a different language. In 1988, just three years after he graduated from London’s Royal College of Art, he stunned many in the design world with “Some New Items for the Home,” an exhibition in Berlin featuring simple plywood furniture he had designed and made himself as a direct rebuke to the over-the-top colors and geometries of the Memphis movement. As Morrison increasingly came to see statement-making design as flawed and wasteful, he began producing the subtler objects that eventually became his greatest hits and inspired a new generation of designers.
Morrison’s Glo-Ball lamps for FLOS, for instance, feature opalescent blown-glass diffusers that resemble ever-so-slightly squished spheres with a striking visual softness. Designed in 1998, the pieces were instantly popular and have remained a best seller for the legendary Italian lighting maker. Morrison’s Cork Family stools for Vitra, designed in 2004, have proved similarly timeless, with simple silhouettes reminiscent of thread spools whose unexpected material — solid cork — makes them particularly alluring.
By 2005, Morrison had befriended another designer working in a similar manner — Japan’s Naoto Fukasawa. That year, Fukasawa introduced his Déjà-vu stool for Magis at the Salone del Mobile in Milan and was dismayed when fairgoers barely noticed it. Crestfallen, Fukasawa talked to Morrison, who saw the scenario differently: The fact that people instinctively used the stool meant that it was successful. To cheer up Fukasawa, Morrison described his design as “super normal.” Morrison and Fukasawa latched onto this phrase as an ideal term for what they were up to.
Launched in 2006, Morrison and Fukasawa’s “Super Normal” — a traveling exhibition and a book that served as a visual manifesto — documented more than 200 utilitarian yet beautiful objects, ranging from a paper clip, a plastic bucket and a ballpoint pen to an Alessi citrus basket, Vitsoe’s 606 universal shelving system by Dieter Rams and Vitra’s Joyn office system by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. That same year, Morrison began playing with extreme simplicity and introduced the Crate, a wooden bedside table for Established & Sons that was modeled on an old wine crate he used for his own bedside table.
Today, Morrison delights in finding the correct balance in his designs, turning out products that seem appealingly natural and precisely what they should be.
Find Jasper Morrison chairs, lighting, stools and other furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
FLOS Superloon Floor Lamp in Black by Jasper Morrison
By Flos, Jasper Morrison
Located in Brooklyn, NY
The serene, harmonious glow of the moon inspired this innovative and first-of-its-kind design from artist Jasper Morrison. Using revolutionary Edge Lighting...
Aluminum
Jasper Morrison Modern Sphere Glass Stainless Steel F2 Floor Lamp for FLOS
By Jasper Morrison, Flos
Located in Brooklyn, NY
FLOS Glo-Ball F2 Halogen Floor Lamp by Jasper Morrison Part of the popular Glo Ball Series, the Glo Ball-F was created in 1998 by artist Jasper Morrison to invoke the radiant calm o...
Steel
$1,224Sale Price / item|15% Off
H 39.38 in W 16.54 in D 39.38 in
Lumina Flo Lounge Floor Lamp in Black Soft by Foster+Partners
By Foster+Partners, Lumina
Located in New York, NY
LED light for floor, in varnish coated aluminum and steel. Its head rotates by 300° for direct lighting, the arm pivots on the base by 120°. 3W-LED which you can switch on with one c...
Aluminum
Floor, Table Lamp Noce T by Achille Castiflioni for Flos
By Achille Castiglioni, Flos
Located in Padova, IT
Iconic floor side lamp Noce T designed by Achille Castiglioni and produced by Flos 1970s. It owes its name to the rounded shape that suggests a half walnut. T...
Aluminum
Flos Arco Floor Lamp with Marble Base by Achille Castiglioni
By Achille Castiglioni, Flos
Located in Basildon, London
The Flos Arco Floor Lamp is a timeless piece of lighting design. Designed by Achille Castiglioni, this iconic lamp features a sleek, curved arm and a sturdy ...
Marble, Aluminum
$1,258Sale Price / item|15% Off
H 43.31 in W 16.54 in D 43.31 in
Lumina Flo Floor Lamp in Soft Black by Foster+Partners
By Foster+Partners, Lumina
Located in New York, NY
LED lights for floor, in varnish coated aluminum and steel. Its head rotates by 300° for direct lighting, the arm pivots on the base by 120°. 6W-LED which you can switch on with one ...
Aluminum
$1,516
H 62.21 in W 7.88 in D 8.27 in
Italian modern white metal Toio floor lamp by Castiglioni Brothers, Flos, 1970s
By Flos, Achille Castiglioni, Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian modern White metal Floor lamp Toio by Castiglioni for Flos, 1970s. Floor lamp mod. Toio with diffuser for indirect light. The stru...
Metal
Cocoon floor lamp - attributable to Flos, 1960s'
By Flos
Located in Milano, IT
Floor lamp made of cocoon and metal presumably made by Flos in the 1960s, the time when the company was founded. The lamp consists of three cocoon lampshades on white metal bases a...
Metal
$1,200
H 62 in Dm 14 in
Stainless Steel and Glass Sphere Top Floor Lamp att. to Matteo Thun for Leucos
By Matteo Thun, Leucos
Located in New York, NY
Exceptional, stainless steel and blown glass floor lamp attributed to Matteo Thun for Leucos, circa 1990's. The lamp features a satin finish glass orb top, which screws into the sati...
Stainless Steel
$3,000
H 94.5 in W 86.6 in D 12.6 in
Vintage Pier Giacomo Achille Castiglioni - Flos 'Arco' Marble & Steel Floor Lamp
By Flos, Achille Castiglioni, Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
Located in Philadelphia, PA
The Carrera marble base has very slight, barely noticeable yellowing. Telescoping arm shows signs of light oxidation, but operates well. The polished and coated/sealed aluminum shade shows light scuffs and scratches. Wiring is original. Lamp works as it should. In very good shape for being ~70 years old. This lamp is not signed. I'm guessing the manufacturer's sticker label dried out and fell off. Typically, the labels were adhered to the ceramic bulb socket, which would heat up and dry out the glue. Also notice the small hole perforated diffuser, on which the polished aluminum shade rests and pivots, is unusual. Many lamps have the larger holes found on the more recently made examples. The small holes diffuser is found on the vintage Flos Arco...
Carrara Marble, Steel
$7,795
H 72.5 in W 18.5 in D 18.5 in
Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Flos Fantasma Piccolo Mid Century Floor Lamp
By Flos, Afra & Tobia Scarpa
Located in Franklin Park, IL
Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Flos Fantasma Piccolo Mid Century Floor Lamp This lamp measures: 18.5 wide x 18.5 deep x 72.5 inches high Good Vintage Condition - Lamp is in good shape ove...
Metal
FLOS Toio Floor Lamp in Red by Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
By Flos, Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
Located in Buffalo, NY
Its designers named it for the English word for “toy,” for good reason: This inventive lamp inspires the imagination, blending an industrial style with a timeless and whimsical desig...
Steel, Stainless Steel
$2,617
H 93.31 in W 81.11 in D 12.21 in
Italian mid-century modern Floor lamp Arco by Castiglioni brothers Flos, 1960s
By Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Achille Castiglioni, Flos, Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian mid-century modern iconic floor lamp Arco by Achille and Piergiacomo Castiglioni for Flos, 1960s Floor lamp mod. Arco wit direct light, with adjustable and height-adjustable ...
Marble, Metal, Steel
$3,160Sale Price|20% Off
H 77.17 in W 18.9 in D 4.73 in
Aeto Floor Lamp by Fabio Lombardo for Flos, Italy, 1980s
By Fabio Lombardo, Flos
Located in Berlin, DE
'Aeto' by Fabio Lombardo for Flos, blue floor lamp in the shape of an eye, Italy, 1980s. Well-designed floor lamp that features an adjustable eye-form light and features a round black metal base and a blue stem. This lamp is archetypical for postwar Italian design. The lamp is almost figurative and has a playful appearance. This subjective and outspoken design was wide-spread amongst postmodern...
Metal
Sold
H 72.83 in Dm 17.71 in
Jasper Morrison Modern Sphere Glass Stainless Steel F3 Floor Lamp for FLOS
By Jasper Morrison, Flos
Located in Brooklyn, NY
FLOS Glo-Ball F3 Halogen Floor Lamp by Jasper Morrison Part of the popular Glo Ball Series, the Glo Ball-F was created in 1998 by artist Jasper Morrison to invoke the radiant calm of...
Steel
FLOS Superloon Floor Lamp in White by Jasper Morrison
By Flos, Jasper Morrison
Located in Brooklyn, NY
The serene, harmonious glow of the moon inspired this innovative and first-of-its-kind design from artist Jasper Morrison. Using revolutionary Edge Lighting...
Aluminum
Flos Luxmaster Floor Lamp by Jasper Morrison
By Jasper Morrison
Located in Pasadena, TX
Flos Luxmaster floor lamp by Jasper Morrison Adjustable floor lamp made by famous Italian lighting company Flos Luxmaster and designed by award winning designer Jasper Morrison i...
Steel