Joe Colombo

Joe Colombo

Joe (Cesare) Colombo was one of the most successful designers of his time. Many of his creations still enjoy success today and are viewed as designer classics. This is the case for the Container Trolly Boby and the impressive Tube Chair. Beside pieces of furniture, Joe Colombo also created lights some of which have reach the status of designer classics.

Colombo was born in Milan in 1930 and first worked as a painter, craftsman, car seller and entrepreneur in the field of electrical devices. He studied painting and sculpture at the Brera Academy of Fines Arts until 1949 and then at the Architecture Department at the Polytechnic University in Milan until 1954. He opened his first studio in Milan in 1963. His works have been awarded with the Compasso d'Oro and the International Design Award, and have been taken into the collections of important museums. Joe Colombo passed away on July 30, 1971, the date of his birthday.

Colombo had collaborations with companies like Kartell, Alessi and Rosenthal. Several of his product designs are still in production today. His design philosophy is best illustrated by the Tube Chair tubular seat (1969) and the Multi Chair (1970). Unlike his rather static, heavy seats and chairs, the multifunctional Multi Chair is composed of a kind of cushion which flexibly adapts to the user's needs. His futuristic living environments such as the "Total Furnishing Unit" meet this ideal.

The Spider light, designed by Joe Colombo in 1965 for Oluce, is one of his most famous products. The table and floor lamp are characterized by a unique, ingeniously simple design and put a special bulb to the fore which ensures both visual effect and function. The 281 Acrilica Lamp (1962, also for Oluce), a table lamp developed by Joe together with his brother Gianni Colombo, uses the clear acrylic body's light conducting properties to achieve a magical, indirect lighting effect.

Joe Colombo: Popular Lights & Lamps Collections