GINO SARFATTI

Known for his contribution to lighting, Gino Sarfatti (1912-1984) designed and produced over 400 luminares during his 30 years of activity. He set up the Italian lighting maker Arteluce which became an international reference point for the modern architecture movement of lighting. Sarfatti and his company carried out non-stop research into innovation as regards typology, materials, production technologies, light sources, technical lighting effects and design aspects. In the course of their work, Sarfatti and Arteluce won numerous prizes and awards including the Compasso d'Oro in 1954 and 1955, and the Honorary Diploma of the Milan Triennale. Arteluce became a forum for many other leading Italian designers during the 1950’s and 1960’s as well including Franco Albini, Franca Helg, Massimo Vignelli, Ico Parisi, Max Huber, and Gianfranco Frattini. A personal favorite is Arteluce’s “2097” chandelier which today is produced by lighting maker Flos. A common misconception that I discovered was Sarfatti’s name being associated with other lighting maker Arredoluce. The three arm Triennale floor lamp, another personal favorite which Sarfatti & Arteluce produced was also produced by Arredoluce; the two companies however had varying design details. Invariably for some reason the Triennale is still associated with Sarfatti even those produced by Arredoluce, when in actuality he was not involved with their company’s design. For the record though both companies produced wonderful designs of the Triennale luminaire. For those mid century lighting enthusiasts like myself, a fair selection of Sarfatti’s vintage designs typically can be found on 1stdibs.

related links:
www.1stdibs.com
www.flos.com

images: (click on images to enlarge)
Table lamp for Arteluce, vintage (top)
2097 for Flos (2nd)
Triennale floor lamp for Arteluce (3rd)
Table lamp with bronze base & metacrylate diffuser (4th)
N°1074 for Arteluce (bottom)