Antonia Jannone re-edits two legendary lamps by Umberto Riva

The energy and beauty bursting from the ‘60s, that powerfully creative period in Italian design, driven by the desire to experiment with shapes and materials and encouraged by technological innovations, make a comeback with renewed vitality in two lamps designed by one of Italy’s most elusive and gifted designers: Umberto Riva. 

Antonia Jannone is the creator of a carefully-constructed re-edition that recently brought back his E63 and Lem table lamps (designed in 1963 for a competition and then put into production in phases and with different manufacturers in the following years). She will have them on display in her Milan gallery starting on November 17th (through January 9, 2016). The new versions of these lamps, developed through ongoing, constructive discussions with Riva, will be on display along with a selection of sketches that document the design process and allow the viewer an in-depth understanding of the creativity of one of Italy’s authors of an innovative concept of living.

The text of the catalogue are written by Beppe Finessi.

E63 was manufactured by Francesconi in 1969. The body, and the connecting elements between its three well-defined and clearly visible functional parts, along with the shape adopted for its components, all contribute to the lamp’s graceful plasticity. The materials selected for this year’s re-edition – steel, copper and bronze – emphasize this aesthetic even more and kindle an interplay of reflections that heightens the lamp’s radiance. 

Originally made of translucent resin by Francesconi and then re-edited by FontanaArte in 1991 under the name Dilem, the version of the Lem lamp launched by Galleria Jannone features an adjustable shade in two opaque colors – aquamarine and orange – and comes in two styles: clamp-on or with base stand.

In order to emphasize the singularity of these two design projects by Umberto Riva, product of the robustly creative 1960s period in Italian design — a hotbed of truly trendsetting objects — the program promoted by Antonia Jannone calls for an exclusive, limited series: 9 pieces for each different material and type of the two lamps. Each model will be signed by the designer and will come with its own certificate of authenticity.