Iconic Designs
Ara Table LampBy Philippe Starck
About the Design
Designer Philippe Starck (b. 1949) once said: “Nothing exists without light. Light is everything.” It should come as no surprise, then, that the prolific French creative has tried his hand at numerous lighting designs, all of which seek to push the boundaries of form in some way. The Ara table lamp, named for Starck’s eldest daughter, is one of several lighting designs he created for Italian manufacturer FLOS, the name behind some of the most inventive lights in history.
The fixture was released in 1988, six years after a commission to redesign the private rooms at Paris’s Élysée Palace for then-president François Mitterand catapulted Starck to global design stardom. The Ara table lamp consists of a simple chrome-plated metal base and tilted stem, atop which sits a “shade” in the shape of a horn that can be rotated in order to direct the light. It contains a single halogen bulb. The exaggerated and unexpected nature of the shape is typical of Starck’s thought-provoking approach to design; he frequently manipulates objects just enough, requiring the viewer to contemplate and question them.
The son of an aircraft engineer, Starck is also prone to toying with functionality and mechanics; on the Ara, the light is activated not by an external switch or pull but simply by pointing the horn shape up or down. The Ara table lamp, which is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum, has since been discontinued by FLOS. It is only available through resale.
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Ara Table Lamp by Philippe Starck Design for Flos 1988
By Philippe Starck
Located in Oirlo, LI
The Ara lamp was designed by Philippe Starck in 1988 and bears the name of his daughter. The lamp was made by Flos in Italy. The on and off switch is integrat...
Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Chrome
$904 Sale Price
49% Off
Ara Table Lamp by Philippe Starck for Flos, 1988
By Philippe Starck
Located in Weesp, NL
A true icon of late 20th-century French design, this Ara table lamp was designed by Philippe Starck in 1988 for the renowned lighting manufacturer Flos. The lamp’s sculptural, aerody...
Category
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Materials
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$1,695 / item
Philippe Starck Design "Ara" Table Lamp for Flos - 1988
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Located in Linkebeek, BE
Desk lamp - Design - Philippe Starck - Vintage
The Ara lamp was designed by Philippe Starck in 1988 and bears the name of his daughter. The lamp was made by F...
Category
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Philippe Starck Kartell Eros Coppia Di Poltroncine Design Anni ‘70 Space Age
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Disegnate negli anni ’70, le poltroncine Eros si distinguono per le loro forme avvolgenti e futuristiche, con struttura in plexiglass che esprime perfettamente la ricerca innovativa ...
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Mickville Gueridon by Philippe Starck for Driade 1980s
By Philippe Starck
Located in HYÈRES, FR
A radical side table by Philippe Starck for Driade.
France 1980s
Folding table.
Signed under.
Some lack of paint.
Original condition.
Category
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Materials
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Philippe Starck was born in Paris, France in 1949. He is the son of André Starck, an aeronautical engineer and founder of Avions André Starck (airplane designer) and Jacqueline Lanourisse.
Philippe Starck began his schooling at the Notre-Dame de Sainte-Croix institution in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris. He then studied at the Camondo school in Paris, under the leadership of Henry Malvaux.
Starck designed an inflatable structure in 1969, initiating a reflection on materiality, and showed an interest in places to live. Shortly after, Pierre Cardin offered him the post of artistic director of his publishing house. At the same time, he founded his first Industrial Design agency, Starck Product. He renamed it into Ubik6 in reference to the famous novel by Philip Kindred Dick.
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