Foscarini
Cap. 6 — Nuovi progetti guardando al fututro
241
Fare Luce, installation designed for Foscarini
Spazio Brera by Giovanni Maria Filindeu, on the
occasion of the 2017 Fuorisalone collateral
exhibition.
About shedding light
Chap. 6 — Imagining the future
In 2021 Foscarini celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fi rst Compasso d’Oro the
company received, with Mite and Tite by Marc Sadler. To pay homage to the project,
a special version was created, Mite Anniversario, not altering the design – the lamp
is identical to the original in its volume – but updating it, by starting with certain
details, especially regarding the materials. From the matte fi nish of the body to
the addition of a marble base to refl ect a sort of acquired classic status, to the use
of a thinner carbon thread assembled with a spiral movement, intensifi ed in a
downward progression.
During the same year, along with this contemporary luminator, a similar model
was released, the result of interaction with Alberto Meda, in his fi rst project for the
company, in tandem with his son Francesco. The piece fully embodies the approach
of the Milanese designers, with a language that combines refi ned form with a fi nely
tuned technical dimension, the result of laborious and fertile collaboration with the
brand. Chiaroscura concentrates its idea on the fl ow of light, making it coincide with
the form: rather than being emitted only from above, the light crosses the body of the
lamp on three sides, both receiving and spreading luminosity. The choice of investing
in Chiaroscura has allowed Foscarini to explore the potential breadth of its identity,
capable of containing ideas apparently distant from its image, while at the same time
opening a dialogue with designers who represent a distinctive school of thought in
the fi nest tradition of Italian design.
One year later, Foscarini entered an agreement for the acquisition of the German
company Ingo Maurer – founded in 1966 by the designer Ingo Maurer, who died in
2019 – a fundamental chapter in the history and contemporary panorama of design,
due to the mastery with which the fi rm creates and produces lamps, spectacular
one-offs and lighting systems. Maurer’s creations are renowned as works that merge
the ordinary and the extraordinary, challenging and amusing the observer at the
same time, in a fascinating tension between technique and expressive fl air.
Based on its solid positioning on a global level, in this way the Venetian company
sets out to reinforce its path of growth and development, boosting its ability to bring
multi-faceted and distinctive vision into the world of lighting through the practice
of excellence. “With this operation – Carlo Urbinati commented – we have decided to
invest in the unique quality of Ingo Maurer, a brand that has been a constant source
of inspiration for us, since we have always admired its freedom of perspective and its
creative approach. We have taken the opportunity to have the honour and the respon-
sibility of ensuring an ongoing narrative for Ingo Maurer in the world, sustaining the
brand’s further growth on global markets”.
Through this acquisition, Foscarini has reinforced its role in lighting on a worl-
dwide level, with the precise objective of bringing out the value of the fi rm’s unique
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