German designer Ingo Maurer (1932–2019) was known as a “poet of light” for how he artfully created table lamps and floor lamps that married form and function, from bulbs that soared on goose-feather wings to chandeliers that suspended bursts of shattered tableware like a slow-motion explosion.
One of Maurer's first lamps, a 1966 design that was merely called Bulb, nested a lightbulb inside a larger glass lightbulb shape, drawing on his connection to German art traditions of reductive forms as well as Pop art and the playful aesthetics of 1960s pop culture. The success of Bulb — its fans included American design icon Charles Eames — led to the founding of his own company to produce this provocative fixture as well as other fantastic lighting designs. Later, for Maurer’s bestselling Uchiwa lamps of the 1970s, the designer found inspiration in Japanese fans made of bamboo and lacquered rice paper.
Born on the island of Reichenau in Lake Constance in southern Germany, Maurer apprenticed at a newspaper before moving to the United States in 1960. In New York and California, Maurer initially worked as a graphic designer for IBM and elsewhere before returning to Germany with his then-wife, designer Dorothee Becker, in 1963. The experience that Maurer gained in typography and bold forms was regularly expressed in the lamps crafted by his company, which was called Design M before the name was changed to Ingo Maurer GmbH. The lighting manufacturer is still based in Munich.
Some of Maurer’s pieces were minimal, such as a ceramic table lamp in 1996 he called Broken Egg, which radiated light from a fissure in an oblong shape, while others were monumental, such as the designer’s last completed installation — a colossal chandelier composed of over 3,000 silver-plated leaves — in Munich’s Residenztheater. Maurer was always at the forefront of lighting innovations, exploring holograms, LEDs and OLEDs in his projects. Through his company, the venturesome Maurer also promoted inventive new designers, including Moritz Waldemeyer, whose My New Flame (2012) imagined a futuristic candle with LEDs.
Ingo Maurer GmbH continues to produce the late designer’s distinctive table lamps, chandeliers and other fixtures, including the imaginative Bulb that started it all.
Find vintage Ingo Maurer Uchiwa lamps and other lighting for sale on 1stDibs.
Established in 2006, Morentz has a team of approximately 55 restorers, upholsterers, interior advisers and art historians, making it a gallery, workshop and upholstery studio, all in one. Every day, a carefully selected array of 20th-century furniture arrives from all over the world at the firm’s warehouse, where the team thoroughly examines each piece to determine what, if any, work needs to be done. Whether that means new upholstery or a complete restoration, Morentz's aim is always to honor the designer’s intention while fulfilling the wishes of the client. The team is up to any challenge, from restoring a single piece to its original glory to furnishing a large-scale hotel project.
Lorenzo Burchiellaro Large Sculptural Lamp in Metal
By Lorenzo Burchiellaro
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Lorenzo Burchiellaro, table or floor lamp, aluminium, Italy, 1970s Sculptural and large lamp by Lorenzo Burchiellaro. Four triangular, bent aluminum sheets form a dynamic body to th...
Aluminum
Rare Angelo Lelii for Arredoluce '12607' Chandelier
By Arredoluce, Angelo Lelii
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Angelo Lelii for Arredoluce, chandelier, model '12607', polished brass, coated aluminum, coated brass, duplex white opal glass, Italy, 1957 Angelo Lelii designed this beautiful and...
Aluminum, Brass
Post-Modern Targetti Sankey Chandelier
By Targetti Sankey
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Targetti Sankey, chandelier, chrome-plated steel, plastic, Italy, 1970s. This chandelier, composed of five pipes, offers a modern interpretation of lighting design. Each pipe, feat...
Steel, Chrome
Italian Adjustable Counterweight Pendant Lamp
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Pendant lamp with adjustable counterweight, black and yellow lacquered metal, brass, wiring, plastic, Italy, 1960s This ceiling lamp is an excellent example of the 'new style' Itali...
Metal, Brass
Olivier Mourgue for Disderot Flower Lamp
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Olivier Mourgue for Disderot, floor lamp, model '2093-150', chrome-plated metal, aluminum, France, 1967. An exquisitely distinctive floor lamp designed to captivate. Conceived by ...
Metal, Aluminum
Angelo Brotto for Esperia Large Pendants
By Esperia, Angelo Brotto
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Angelo Brotto for Esperia, pendant lights, glass, brass, Italy, 1970s Exuding elegance in every aspect, Angelo Brotto's design captivates the eye. Suspended from a brass fixture, a ...
Brass
Ingo Maurer - Kinetic light sculpture model 'Ilo Ilu', Germany, 1986
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Ingo Maurer Ingo Maurer for Ingo Maurer GmbH. Kinetic light sculpture model 'Ilo Ilu', steel, wood, plastic, metal, mirror. Germany, 1986. D. 30 cm, H. 160 cm
Steel, Metal
Sculptural Light No. 30 by Milla Vaahtera
By Milla Vaahtera
Located in Geneve, CH
Sculptural light No. 30 by Milla Vaahtera Dimensions: D 5 x W 78 x H 60 cm Materials: Glass, brass In 2020 Milla Vaahtera started a series of unique sculptural lights made out of br...
Brass
Sculptural Light No. 72 by Milla Vaahtera
By Milla Vaahtera
Located in Geneve, CH
Sculptural light no. 72 by Milla Vaahtera Dimensions: W 96 x D 55 x H 60 cm Materials: Glass In 2020 Milla Vaahtera started a series of unique sculptural lights made out of brass and hand blown glass. "I have focused on mobile art work for the past few years and this series with light is a natural continuum of that work. These lights are all unique and made by a very intuitive process. Glass parts are made in collaboration with a team of glass blowers from Nuutajärvi Glass Village. The creative process of joining methods of art to traditional areas of craft is the most important thing to me in my work. Traditionally craft has been an area where professionals avoid failure. Lack of failure makes them good. I'm revolutionary in embracing failure in the craft process. I always find new techniques via failure. Failure is not opposite to success, it's a necessary part of it. When I find the flow of “not giving a shit” in my work, I find freedom and fun, and achieve the best work. Embracing failure shuts up the critical comments in my head and I’m liberated. I´m inspired by everything and find influences all around me. I find leaving some tool marks to the brass and "the mistakes" refreshing. With glass, the pieces where you could see the moment of melt in the final work are always my favorites. And I felt that now I work in dialogue with glass. I learned to use improvisation at the moment to maintain the wild nature of glass. Glass is like me, spontaneous and organic. " Glassblowers: Paula Pääkkönen, Sani Lappalainen, Otto Koivuranta, Jukka Viuha, Penna Tornberg and many other glassblowers from Nuutajärvi. The metal parts: Silversmith Kirsi Kokkonen together with Milla Vaahtera Electric work Ullanlinnan sähkö Vaahtera began to work on this series in May 2017 together with glassblowers Paula Pääkkönen, Sani Lappalainen, Pauli Vähäsarja, Henni Eliala and Jonas Paajanen of Nuutajärvi. The metal parts were prepared by silversmith Kirsi Kokkonen together with Milla Vaahtera. The method was based on dialogue with the glass artists, improvisation and intuition. The ethereal pieces are a revival of the mobile tradition that emerged in the 1930s.The heavy glass parts and the delicate brass seek a balance with each other, thus creating tensions within the works. Milla Vaahtera (born 1981) is a designer and an artist working in Helsinki. The themes of her works extend from body image and sexuality to intuition and dialogues in the creative progress. Vaahtera has graduated as a Master of Arts in 2010 from Aalto University, the School of Arts, Design and Architecture. She did her BA studies in Lahti Institute of Design in 2008. Her work is featured in several exhibitions at galleries and museums including the Design Museum Finland, Lokal gallery and UU Market...
Blown Glass
Sculptural Light No. 68 by Milla Vaahtera
By Milla Vaahtera
Located in Geneve, CH
Sculptural light No. 68 by Milla Vaahtera Dimensions: W 30 x L 85 x H 60 cm Materials: Glass, Brass In 2020 Milla Vaahtera started a series of un...
Brass
Sculptural Light No. 66 by Milla Vaahtera
By Milla Vaahtera
Located in Geneve, CH
Sculptural light No. 67 by Milla Vaahtera Dimensions: W 70 x D 28 x H 60 cm Materials: Glass, brass Dark glass dome is deep dark violet. In 2020 Milla Vaahtera started a series...
Brass
Sculptural Light No. 65 by Milla Vaahtera
By Milla Vaahtera
Located in Geneve, CH
Sculptural light no. 65 by Milla Vaahtera Dimensions: W 103 x D 55 x H 70 cm Materials: Glass, brass In 2020 Milla Vaahtera started a series of unique sculptural lights made out of brass and hand blown glass. "I have focused on mobile art work for the past few years and this series with light is a natural continuum of that work. These lights are all unique and made by a very intuitive process. Glass parts are made in collaboration with a team of glass blowers from Nuutajärvi Glass Village. The creative process of joining methods of art to traditional areas of craft is the most important thing to me in my work. Traditionally craft has been an area where professionals avoid failure. Lack of failure makes them good. I'm revolutionary in embracing failure in the craft process. I always find new techniques via failure. Failure is not opposite to success, it's a necessary part of it. When I find the flow of “not giving a shit” in my work, I find freedom and fun, and achieve the best work. Embracing failure shuts up the critical comments in my head and I’m liberated. I´m inspired by everything and find influences all around me. I find leaving some tool marks to the brass and "the mistakes" refreshing. With glass, the pieces where you could see the moment of melt in the final work are always my favorites. And I felt that now I work in dialogue with glass. I learned to use improvisation at the moment to maintain the wild nature of glass. Glass is like me, spontaneous and organic. " Glassblowers: Paula Pääkkönen, Sani Lappalainen, Otto Koivuranta, Jukka Viuha, Penna Tornberg and many other glassblowers from Nuutajärvi. The metal parts: Silversmith Kirsi Kokkonen together with Milla Vaahtera Electric work Ullanlinnan sähkö Vaahtera began to work on this series in May 2017 together with glassblowers Paula Pääkkönen, Sani Lappalainen, Pauli Vähäsarja, Henni Eliala and Jonas Paajanen of Nuutajärvi. The metal parts were prepared by silversmith Kirsi Kokkonen together with Milla Vaahtera. The method was based on dialogue with the glass artists, improvisation and intuition. The ethereal pieces are a revival of the mobile tradition that emerged in the 1930s.The heavy glass parts and the delicate brass seek a balance with each other, thus creating tensions within the works. Milla Vaahtera (born 1981) is a designer and an artist working in Helsinki. The themes of her works extend from body image and sexuality to intuition and dialogues in the creative progress. Vaahtera has graduated as a Master of Arts in 2010 from Aalto University, the School of Arts, Design and Architecture. She did her BA studies in Lahti Institute of Design in 2008. Her work is featured in several exhibitions at galleries and museums including the Design Museum Finland, Lokal gallery and UU Market...
Brass
The off-site collection comprises more than 215,000 pieces.
Gunnel Nyman was known as a glass artist, but this piece is a striking example of her early training in furniture design.
