Iconic Designs
Ara Table Lamp
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.
Ara Table Lamp
to
4
1
6
3
3
2
2
Philippe Starck Ara Table Desk Lamp, Chrome, Post-Modern by Flos Italy, 1980s
By Flos, Philippe Starck
Located in Vienna, AT
A chrome-plated and mirror-polished postmodern Ara desk or table lamp from the 1980s, designed by Philippe Starck in 1988, named after his daughter. Executed by Flos, Italy. A stylis...
Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Metal, Chrome
Ara Table Lamp by Philippe Starck for Flos
By Philippe Starck
Located in Vlimmeren, BE
This horn-shaped Ara table lamp is designed by Philippe Starck for Flos in 1988.
It was named after his daughter.
This classic Starck design incorporates ...
Category
Vintage 1980s European Post-Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Chrome
Philippe Starck Ara Table Lamp in Polished Chromed Metal by Flos, 1988, Italy
By Flos, Philippe Starck
Located in Montecatini Terme, IT
Ara table or desk lamp in polished chrome provides direct illumination. The head adjusts to direct lighting at a 90-degree angle.
Designed by Philippe Starck in 1988 for Flos.
Measurements:
Height: 55 – 56.5 cm
Lampshade: 27.5 cm
Base: Ø 17.5 cm
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.
He began his collaborations with Alessi, Aprilia, Disform, Driade, Drimmer, Fossil, Kartell and Vitra. Philippe Starck has designed several hotels around the globe and also Steve Jobs‘s yacht, Venus.
In the 1980s a long and exclusive collaboration with Flos begins, which sheds light on a series of international successes also called cult objects such as this ARA’ table lamp, the Miss Sissi table lamp (1991), the Rosy Angelis...
Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Aluminum, Steel, Chrome
Ara Table Lamp Philippe Starck for Flos
By Flos, Philippe Starck
Located in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Ara desk lamp designed by Philippe Starck for Flos.
Electric plug is Type A. Usable with 100-120V, in the US.
Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Aluminum
Ara Table Lamps by Philippe Starck for Flos, 1988
By Philippe Starck
Located in Weesp, NL
Stylish pair of Ara table lamps designed by Philippe Starck and produced by Flos, Italy, 1988. The lamps are in great working condition. If you tilt the upp...
Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Steel
Pair of Original Ara Table Lamps by Phillpe Starck for Flos, 1988, France
By Philippe Starck, Flos
Located in Jersey City, NJ
Pair of mirror polished-chrome plated steel table lamps have a die-cast head of Zamac metal alloy, with glass defuser, supported by a angled steel pole attached to a weighted chrome ...
Category
Vintage 1980s French Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Metal
Related Items
FLOS Miss K Table Lamp in Aluminized Silver by Philippe Starck
By Flos, Philippe Starck
Located in Syosset, NY
Created by innovative design master Philippe Starck, the Miss K table lamp brings a delightful duality to its work. When unlit, its transparent PC (p...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Plastic
FLOS Bon Jour Versailles Small Chrome Lamp in Transparent by Philippe Starck
By Flos, Philippe Starck
Located in Syosset, NY
This modern and timeless design is a result of the collaboration between FLOS and acclaimed designer Phillippe Starck. Blending together two dynamic pieces—the FLOS 2017 design Bon Jour Lamps and the Versaille candleholder created by Baccarat—the Bon Jour Versailles...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Aluminum
FLOS Guns Collection Bedside Lamp in Gold by Philippe Starck
By Flos, Philippe Starck
Located in Syosset, NY
This sleek and edgy table lamp is part of the artist’s Guns Collection, making a statement while doing good. “Design is my weapon,” says Starck, who donates 20% of the collection’s s...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Aluminum
FLOS Miss K Table Lamp in Black by Philippe Starck
By Flos, Philippe Starck
Located in Syosset, NY
Created by innovative design master Philippe Starck, the miss K table lamp brings a delightful duality to its work. When unlit, its transparent PC (p...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Plastic
FLOS Miss K Transparent Table Lamp by Philippe Starck
By Flos, Philippe Starck
Located in Syosset, NY
Part of the Miss K family, this version of the popular Philippe Starck creation offers a hint of feminine softness, the result of its soft fabric outer diffuser...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Fabric, Plastic
FLOS Bon Jour Chrome Table Lamp w/ Rattan Crown by Philippe Starck
By Flos, Philippe Starck
Located in Syosset, NY
Using revolutionary Edge Lighting Technology, the Bon Jour combines maximum performance and efficiency with visual comfort. Users are able to effortlessly control the intensity of th...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Aluminum
FLOS Ktribe T2 Halogen Table Lamp in Aluminized Silver by Philippe Starck
By Flos, Philippe Starck
Located in Syosset, NY
A member of the Ktribe family of products, this inspiring table light provides diffused light through a transparent diffuser that gracefully moves the eye upward. The base, rod, and ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Aluminum
Flos Romeo Moon T1 Table Lamp by Philippe Starck
By Flos
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Iconic Philippe Starck (1998) designed Romeo Moon table desk lamp providing diffused light, having acid-etched pressed borosilicate glass internal diffuser....
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Steel
FLOS Bon Jour White Table Lamp w/ Yellow Crown by Philippe Starck
By Flos, Philippe Starck
Located in Syosset, NY
Using revolutionary Edge Lighting Technology, the Bon Jour combines maximum performance and efficiency with visual comfort. Users are able to effortlessly control the intensity of th...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Aluminum
Flos D'e-light Table Lamp by Philippe Starck
By Flos, Philippe Starck
Located in Paris, FR
The Italian D'e-light workspace Lamp by Philippe Starck for Flos has a sleek, modern, and multi-functional design. This light design has a space on top for s...
Category
Early 2000s Italian Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Steel
Post Modern Italian Murano Glass Mushroom Table Lamp, 1980s
By Maestri Muranesi
Located in Puglia, Puglia
Table lamp produced in Murano by the Masters of Murano, conical base in blown glass with colored rods, hat in white etched glass. The lamp has a double switch, as in the photo it is ...
Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Murano Glass
Flos by Philippe Starck Romeo Table Lamp
By Flos, Philippe Starck
Located in London, GB
Designed by Philippe Starck for Flos in 1997, the Romeo table lamp is a timeless design.
Constructed from an aluminium and steel base with a gray finish, the table lamp features a...
Category
1990s Italian Table Lamps
Materials
Aluminum
Previously Available Items
Ara Table Lamp by Philippe Starch for Flos
By Flos, Philippe Starck
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
This stylish, polished steel table lamp is known as the Ara, and it was created in 1988 by Philippe Starck for Flos.
The lead image shows the lamp in its off position (with the tip of the cornucopia downward) and you need to grab the horn and push in downward to turn the lamp on and then push it upward when you want to turn the lamp off.
Note: The Ara table...
Category
Late 20th Century French Post-Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Stainless Steel
Ara Table Lamp Philippe Starck for Flos in Stock
By Flos, Philippe Starck
Located in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Ara desk lamp designed by Philippe Starck for Flos.
Usable with 100-120V, in the US.
Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Aluminum
More Philippe Starck Designs
Louis Ghost Chair
Average Price
$2,478
Number Available
28
Louis Ghost Chair
Materials
Plastic, Glass
Styles
Modern
It’s perhaps surprising that the Louis Ghost chair by Philippe Starck (b. 1949) has been around for less than two decades when you consider its impressive international stature. When Starck introduced the design for Kartell in 2002, it became an instant icon. Now it’s easily one of the most recognized (and copied) designs in the world.
The prolific designer started his own company in 1968 and subsequently secured an art director role with fashion designer Pierre Cardin, for whom he designed f...
Ara Table Lamp
Average Price
$2,063
Number Available
6
Ara Table Lamp
Materials
Metal, Chrome, Glass, Aluminum, Steel
Styles
Post Modern, Modern
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 rele...
Miss K Table Lamp
Average Price
$843
Number Available
5
Miss K Table Lamp
Materials
Plastic
Styles
Modern
Machine Gun Lamp
Average Price
$3,169
Number Available
3
Machine Gun Lamp
Materials
Metal, Aluminum, Glass, Paper, Plastic
Styles
Modern
A harmless everyday object that assumes the form of a deadly weapon, the Gun table lamp created by Philippe Starck (b. 1949) is the popular French designer’s loudest political statement in a career full of them. Designed for prominent Italian lighting manufacturer FLOS as part of a series of weapon replicas — a Beretta pistol, an M16 rifle and, in this case, a Kalashnikov AK-47 — the Gun table lamp is cast in aluminum and finished in chrome or polished 18-karat gold. Starck's dimmable fixture...