23
Valerio Sommella
Q What does drawing light
means for you?
V.S. Designing light has
always been one of the most
fascinating aspects of my
work, which over the years has allowed me to
design everything, for the simple fact that
nothing like light can transform the space
around us. Light has immense power, it can
make the ugly beautiful and vice versa, and I
find that designing the objects that convey it
is a great privilege.
Q What is the most complicated aspect in
designing a lamp?
V.S. One of the most complex aspects is to
imagine the behaviour of the light and its
interaction with the other materials that
make up the lamp, as well as the transition
from the rough idea to the final product... as
simple as it may seem, a lamp is almost
always a complex object.
Q Where does the inspiration for your Nemo
lamps come from?
V.S. The Portofino lamp is the result of a
study on portable lamps and the desire to
create a slim, slender and elegant object. A
presence on the table that would not obstruct
the eye while offering excellent illumination.
From these considerations comes the tapered
stem, the slender wide head, counterbalanced
by the marble base, a strongly characterising
and distinctive element.
Q The ideal place where you would like to
see your work installed?
V.S. I would start in some restaurant in
Portofino, on some terrace by the sea,
although I imagine it would be just as well in
contract contexts as in residential settings
such as the long table in my house where I
never wanted a pendant lamp.
Q The future of lighting design from your
point of view?
V.S. The lighting sector is technologically very
much alive and evolving in many respects.
One example is what we have done today
with Portofino, unthinkable 10 or 15 years
ago. I expect the same from the future, to be
able to think and do things that would seem
crazy today.
Portofino, table, black, sahara noir marble. Designed by Valerio Sommella.
Conversation with Valerio Sommella
