
Chiara Floor LampBy Mario Bellini
Simplicity with a smile: These words go a long way in describing the Chiara floor lamp and the work of its designer, Mario Bellini (b. 1935). A visionary who prefers hands-on experimentation, Bellini’s 1964 fixture began with models of rolled paper and concluded, in his own words, as “a nun-shaped lamp that makes the light come out of her white hat.”
Known for his openly anthropomorphic yet sophisticated designs, Bellini studied architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan. He graduated in 1959 and quickly found a place in the northern Italian city’s flourishing design scene. In 1963, Bellini opened his own design practice and became chief industrial design consultant to Olivetti. In the ensuing years, Bellini won multiple Compasso d’Oro awards, consulted on automobile design, edited design journal Domus and created objects that span a number of fields. He designed office chairs for Vitra and lighting for Artemide, Erco and FLOS, the venturesome Italian maker that announced plans to reintroduce the Chiara floor lamp (and a table version) in 2019.
Topped with a gently curving hood that serves as a diffuser, Bellini’s original Chiara floor lamp takes the form of an elegant column made of a large single sheet of stainless steel. While the exterior’s surface is polished, the fixture’s interior is enameled in white, which supports a warm and luminous disbursement of the light that travels from the source inside the lamp’s base. The Chiara floor lamp represents Bellini’s humanist focus on our tactile experiences with an object. It is also a timeless component of his impressive design legacy.
Mario Bellini Chiara Lamp
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