Over the past several months, Italian lighting brand Foscarini has enlisted global artists and illustrators to interpret its most known designs, inviting them to play with the company's icons to offer a new point of view on its lighting offering.
The latest in this series is a collaboration with Israeli illustrator Noma Bar. Among Bar's most known projects is Chineasy, a playful take on learning Chinese characters, created in collaboration with ShaoLan Hseuh and winner of Life-Enhancer of the Year at the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2015. His clients include Time Out London, BBC, Random House, The Observer and The Economist among others.
Noma Bar Foscarini: playing with lighting design
‘Havana’ floor and ceiling lamp by Jozeph Forakis as a cat's eyes, and Ludovica + Roberto Palomba's ‘Gregg’ pendant as its nose
'I know how to appreciate timeless silhouettes, and luckily I had Foscarini's great iconic silhouettes to work with,' comments Bar talking about the collaboration. Bar worked on a theme of 'Your Home', which inspired the artist to look for domestic situations (but also scenes outside of the home) to integrate the lighting designs.
In his usual playful fashion, Bar transformed Foscarini lights into the back of women's heads, a cat's eyes, a dog's nose and the roofs of small houses, among other motifs. Each lighting design (from Marc Sadler's ‘Twiggy’ floor lamp to Ludovica + Roberto Palomba's ‘Gregg’ pendant) maintains its familiar silhouette while becoming part of something else, acquiring a clear function within Bar's illustration.
‘Magneto’ floor and table lamps by Giulio Iacchetti
'The dog “Lumiere” is probably my favourite,' comments Bar. 'I think that it surprises you (as well as myself), to find out how [the] “Lumiere” light body can become a nose, the base of the lamp transforms to a dog's mouth and the light that comes out is the dog's fur.'
Carlo Urbinati, Foscarini president and founder adds: 'Foscarini is a company that thrives on ideas, curiosity, the desire to experiment and experience. This new digital project will grant space for original contents that, through visual impressions where our light is the protagonist, will enable us to discover the power of ideas.'
A quartet of Spokes by Garcia & Cumini
Aplomb suspension by Lucidi Pevere
-
Clocking on: the bedside analogue timepieces that won’t alarm your aestheticWe track down the only tick-tocks that matter, nine traditional alarm clocks that tell the time with minimum fuss and maximum visual impact
-
Architecture, sculpture and materials: female Lithuanian artists are celebrated in NîmesThe Carré d'Art in Nîmes, France, spotlights the work of Aleksandra Kasuba and Marija Olšauskaitė, as part of a nationwide celebration of Lithuanian culture
-
‘There is more work to be done in the garden’: Dries Van Noten on deciding to grow his burgeoning beauty lineFor Dries Van Noten, 2024 has been a landmark year. After stepping down from fashion in June, the designer speaks to Wallpaper* about a new focus on nurturing the brand’s beauty line and spending more time in his beloved garden
