Imaginative lighting is a longtime hallmark of modern Italian design. Following in the footsteps of innovative companies such as Artemide and Arteluce, the company FLOS brought a fresh aesthetic philosophy to the Italian lighting field in the 1960s, one that would produce several of the iconic floor lamp, table lamp and pendant light designs of the era.
FLOS — Latin for “flower” — was founded in the northern town of Merano in 1962 by Cesare Cassina (of the famed Cassina furniture-making family) and Dino Gavina, a highly cultured businessman who believed that artistic ideas espoused in postwar Italy could inform commercial design. The two enlisted brothers Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni as their first designers.
Even before FLOS was formally incorporated, the Castiglionis gave the firm one of its enduring successes with the Taraxacum pendant and associated designs made by spraying an elastic polymer on a metal armature. (George Nelson had pioneered the technique in the United States in the early 1950s.) For other designs, the brothers found inspiration in everyday objects. Suggestive of streetlights, their Arco floor lamp, with its chrome boom and ball-shaped shade sweeping out from a marble block base, has become a staple of modernist decors. Designing for FLOS since 1966, Tobia Scarpa has also been inspired by the commonplace. His folded-metal Foglio sconces resemble a shirt cuff; his carved marble Biagio table lamp looks like a jai alai basket.
In 1973, FLOS purchased Arteluce, the company founded in 1939 by Gino Sarfatti, and it continues to produce his designs. In recent decades, FLOS has contracted work from several noted designers, including Marcel Wanders and Jasper Morrison. As instantly recognizable as they are, many FLOS designs remain accessible. While FLOS lighting is the essence of modernity, its sleek, subtle designs can be used to strike a sculptural note in even traditional spaces.
Browse a broad range of FLOS lighting fixtures at 1stDibs.
Pao Floor Lamp by Matteo Thun for Arteluce, Italy, 1990s
By Matteo Thun, Arteluce
Located in Brussel, BE
PAO, a tall floor lamp made with a satin glass base, ebonized wood stem, and an opal glass oval-shaped shade that emits a beautiful, warm light, gently diffused through the white gla...
Metal
$3,160Sale Price|20% Off
H 77.17 in W 18.9 in D 4.73 in
Aeto Floor Lamp by Fabio Lombardo for Flos, Italy, 1980s
By Flos, Fabio Lombardo
Located in Berlin, DE
'Aeto' by Fabio Lombardo for Flos, blue floor lamp in the shape of an eye, Italy, 1980s. Well-designed floor lamp that features an adjustable eye-form light and features a round black metal base and a blue stem. This lamp is archetypical for postwar Italian design. The lamp is almost figurative and has a playful appearance. This subjective and outspoken design was wide-spread amongst postmodern...
Metal
$6,918
H 74.02 in Dm 16.93 in
Postmodern Model Pao F Floor Lamp by Matteo Thun for Arteluce, Italy, 1990s
By Matteo Thun
Located in Hamburg, DE
The floor lamp version from the PAO light series from Arteluce according to a design by Matteo Thun. The Pao lights impress with their characteristic diffuser and foot made of matt ...
Glass, Wood
Zen Floor Lamp by Ernesto Gismondi for Artemide, Italy, 1980s
By Ernesto Gismondi, Artemide
Located in Byron Bay, NSW
Artemide "Zen" floor lamp by Ernesto Gismondi The model Zen floor lamp designed by Ernesto Gismondi (1931-2020, Italy) for Artemide. A tall halogen floor lamp with round shaped alumi...
Aluminum, Wrought Iron
$1,299
H 69.69 in W 35.44 in D 7.88 in
Vintage "Yuki" floor lamp by Paolo Francesco Piva for Stefano Cevoli, 1980
By Stefano Cevoli
Located in Den Haag, NL
Lamp produced in the 1980s by Stefano Cevoli based on a design by Paolo Francesco Piva. model Yuki Hemispherical base in black painted metal. Double stem in black painted metal that ...
Metal
$1,535 / item
H 75.6 in W 19.69 in D 14.57 in
Tebe, Floor Lamp by Ernesto Gismondi for Artemide, Italy, 1980s
By Artemide, Ernesto Gismondi
Located in Brussel, BE
Elegant floor lamp with an anthracite grey/black lacquered aluminum body and a half-moon-shaped shade of molded, frosted glass, a treatment that makes the surface opaque, softening h...
Aluminum
$2,345
H 78.74 in W 40.94 in D 13.39 in
Italian Postmodern Elle 55 Floor Lamp by Tommaso Cimini for Lumina, 1980s
By Tommaso Cimini
Located in Hamburg, DE
Postmodern floor lamp from the Italian manufacturer Lumina according to a design by Tommaso Cimini from the 80s. Here is a rare version with a special version. An impressive yet fil...
Metal
$1,180Sale Price|20% Off
H 72.45 in Dm 12.6 in
Postmodern floor lamp Fagiolo Moriconi for Cil Italia 1970s
By Cil Italia, Fagiolo Moriconi
Located in Den Haag, NL
Very nice sleek Postmodern Italian floor lamp. High gloss White Metal upright comes with a Glass scale shade. The Red power cord is a nice detail. rare find. Signed. One E27 bulb ...
Metal
Enzo Mari 'Aggregato' Adjustable Floor Lamp for Artemide, Italy, 1976
Located in Firenze, IT
An iconic 'Aggregato' floor lamp, designed by the master of Italian Rationalism Enzo Mari (in collaboration with Giancarlo Fassina) for Artemide in 1976. This piece is a quintessenti...
Steel
Italian ‘Polifemo’ Floor Lamp by Carlo Forcolini for Artemide
By Carlo Forcolini
Located in Chicago, IL
The ‘Polifemo’ floor lamp was designed by Carlo Forcolini for Artemide in the 1980s. Defined by its graphic silhouette, the design pairs a black metal base and stem with an ivory-enameled disk diffuser, centered by a mirrored halogen reflector. The disk pivots to cast and reflect light with precision, held in place by a triangular black metal frame that gives the piece its balanced, architectural presence. Carlo Forcolini (1947-) is an internationally renowned Italian designer and entrepreneur with a design career that spans over fifty years. Established in mid-20th century Italy, Artemide is renowned as one of the most prominent lighting manufacturers. Their acclaimed fixtures are featured in museum collections globally. Vintage Artemide lighting...
Metal, Enamel
Polifemo Floor Lamp by Carlo Forcolini for Artemide, Italy
By Artemide, Carlo Forcolini
Located in Milano, IT
During the 1980s, Artemide produced an Italian postmodern floor lamp crafted by the renowned designer Carlo Forcolino. This lamp features...
Metal
Rare Accademia Floor Lamp, Designed by Cini Boeri for Artemide, Italy, 1978
By Artemide, Cini Boeri
Located in Milano, IT
The Accademia floor lamp, designed by Cini Boeri in 1978, is a rare and monumental lighting piece created for Artemide. It stands as a powerful example of Boeri’s minimalist design p...
Steel
Rare Monumental Italian Cocoon Floor Lamp, Italy 60/70s
By Achille Castiglioni, Flos, Goldkant Leuchten
Located in Milano, IT
Rare Monumental Italian Cocoon Floor Lamp, Italy 60s This exceptional piece is a striking example of mid-century modern lighting design. With its unique and sculptural form, the Coc...
Metal
Set of two Area floor lamps, designed by Mario Bellini for Artemide, Italy, 1980
Located in Milano, IT
Set of two Area floor lamps, designed by Mario Bellini for Artemide, Italy, 1980 This striking set of two Area floor lamps, designed by Mario Bellini for Artemide in the 1980s, perf...
Metal
Italian floor lamp with cocoon shade, travertine base and brass details, 1960s
By Stilnovo, Arredoluce, Angelo Lelii
Located in Milano, IT
Sculptural Italian floor lamp with cocoon shade, travertine base and brass details, circa 1960 An elegant Italian floor lamp distinguished by its refined combination of natural mate...
Metal, Brass
Rare Le Falene floor lamp designed by Piero De Martini for Arteluce, Italy 1980s
By Piero De Martini, Arteluce
Located in Milano, IT
Rare Le Falene floor lamp by Piero De Martini for Arteluce, Italy, 1980s The Le Falene floor lamp, designed by Piero De Martini for Arteluce in the 1980s, is a rare and iconic examp...
Metal
