Artemide | Exhibitions and Shows | Fuorisalone | Fuorisalone Milan Design Week | Milan Design Week | Producer | Product | smow in Milan
As it was our first event of Milan Design Week 2013, we're honouring Artemide with the first post from Milan Design Week 2013.
And in specific Empatia by Carlotta de Bevilacqua and Paola di Arianello, for us the stand out object in the Artemide 2013 collection.
It will sound like damning Carlotta and Paola with faint praise when we say that the overwhelming majority of the new Artemide products are architectural lighting - all technically very interesting, just architectural lighting - and that amongst the few new domestic lights Ross Lovegrove was presenting what could best be described as sculptures that illuminate and Ernesto Gismondi was presenting Ilio, an object which to be honest we simply didn't get.
That however would be to underestimate Empatia.
On the one hand there is the mouth blown Venetian glass outer bowl.
Then here is the technological innovation, The secret to Empatia is a synthetic rod in the middle of the glass bowl.The light is generated by LEDs in the base of the lamp, flows through the rod, is reflected by the opaque top, and ultimately emits a pleasant, even, 360 degree illumination.
We're fairly certain someone will compare the rod to a candle. It's the lazy, obvious comparison
Yes, as a glass bowl shaped lamp that comes in table, wall, hanging and floor versions Empatia is very similar to one or the other existing Artemide product.
However, on the one hand it does have an alluring, endearing and new form language combined with an energy saving innovative technological solution, and on the other, why shouldn't Artemide continuing doing what they do? They do it so effortlessly well.
And as the (smow)boss repeatedly tells us: If you do what you do well you wont need to worry about your financial future.
Quite why he always emphasises the "well" and "wont" remains for us a mystery. But we digress.
At the moment there is no release date for Empatia by Carlotta de Bevilacqua and Paola di Arianello, and so until all is confirmed, a couple of impressions from Milan Design Week.
