Desk lamp 'Oceanic lamp', enamelled steel, designed by Michele de Lucchi, made by Artimede, Milan, 1981

Desk lamp of enamelled steel. Pink, yellow, black and white stripes.

Given by Celia Morrissette, NYC

Michele de Lucchi worked closely together with Ettore Sottsass in the late 1970s and early 1980s contributing intellectually and stylistically to work of the designer's office, Sottsass Associati. By the time of the founding of Memphis under the leadership of Sottsass in 1981, de Lucchi had already designed a number of product designs in a postmodern style, among them the Sinerpica lamp (W.7-2010) for Alchymia (1978), a set of prototypes for the Italian manufacturer Girmi (1978) and a coffee pot commissioned by Cleto Munari (1979).
De Lucchi was arguably the most important furniture designer, apart from Sottsass himself, for Memphis. He created among other designs the group's bestseller, the First chair (1983), which looked something like a diagram of an orbiting satellite. The Oceanic lamp, with its diagonal composition (recalling Sottsass' Beverly sideboard) and bold combination of black-and-white stripes atop a pink block, is a quintessential example of Memphis design in its first year. For the inaugural collection, de Lucchi also created a small armoire named Pacific, and a shelving unit called Atlantic, completing a trio of similarly named objects (an interest in theming that runs through Memphis's production. Like all of the lighting in the first collection, the Oceanic lamp was manufactured by Artemide, with Memphis designer Martine Bedin acting as the liaison to the factory.

Michele de Lucchi was arguably the most important furniture designer of the Italian design group Memphis, apart from the founder Ettore Sottsass himself. He created among other designs the group's bestseller, the First chair (1983), which looked something like a diagram of an orbiting satellite. The Oceanic lamp, with its diagonal composition and bold combination of black-and-white stripes atop a pink block, is a quintessential example of Memphis design in its first year. This example is an early edition piece. For the inaugural collection, de Lucchi also created a small armoire named Pacific, and a shelving unit called Atlantic, completing a trio of similarly named objects which refelcts an interest in theming that runs through Memphis's production.

W.21-2010