He died tragically young, and his career as a designer lasted little more than 10 years. But through the 1960s, Joe Colombo proved himself one of the field’s most provocative and original thinkers, and he produced a remarkably large array of innovative chairs, table lamps and other lighting and furniture as well as product designs. Even today, the creations of Joe Colombo have the power to surprise.
Cesare “Joe” Colombo was born in Milan, the son of an electrical-components manufacturer. He was a creative child — he loved to build huge structures from Meccano pieces — and in college he studied painting and sculpture before switching to architecture.
In the early 1950s, Colombo made and exhibited paintings and sculptures as part of an art movement that responded to the new Nuclear Age, and futuristic thinking would inform his entire career. He took up design not long after his father fell ill in 1958, and he and his brother, Gianni, were called upon to run the family company.
Colombo expanded the business to include the making of plastics — a primary material in almost all his later designs. One of his first, made in collaboration with his brother, was the Acrilica table lamp (1962), composed of a wave-shaped piece of clear acrylic resin that diffused light cast by a bulb concealed in the lamp’s metal base. A year later, Colombo produced his best-known furniture design, the Elda armchair (1963): a modernist wingback chair with a womb-like plastic frame upholstered in thick leather pads.
Portability and adaptability were keynotes of many Colombo designs, made for a more mobile society in which people would take their living environments with them. One of his most striking pieces is the Tube chair (1969). It comprises four foam-padded plastic cylinders that fit inside one another. The components, which are held together by metal clips, can be configured in a variety of seating shapes (his Additional Living System seating is similarly versatile).
Vintage Tube chairs generally sell for about $9,000 in good condition; Elda chairs for about $7,000. A small Colombo design such as the plastic Boby trolley — an office organizer on wheels, designed in 1970 — is priced in the range of $700.
As Colombo intended, his designs are best suited to a modern decor. If your tastes run to sleek, glossy Space Age looks, the work of Joe Colombo offers you a myriad of choices.
Find vintage Joe Colombo lamps, seating and other furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
Stilnovo Mid-Century Modern Italian Floor Lamp
By Stilnovo
Located in Weesp, NL
Striking Mid-Century Stilnovo Floor Lamp – Brass, Iron & Milk Glass – Italy, 1950s Elevate your interior with this rare mid-century modern floor lamp attributed to Stilnovo, one of ...
Brass
Stilnovo mid-century floor lamp
By Stilnovo
Located in Weesp, NL
This striking two-arm floor lamp was designed and manufactured by Stilnovo in Milan, one of the defining names of Italian mid-century lighting. It carries the original circular “Stil...
Iron
Mid-Century Modern Philips Floor Lamp by Louis Kalff
By Louis Kalff
Located in Weesp, NL
Louis Kalff Mid-Century Modern Philips floor lamp An architectural very rare floor lamp in enameled institutional grey with red and mid-grey accents. Wire structure supporting the...
Metal
Majestic Mid century Modern Floor Lamp
By Majestic Lamp Company
Located in Weesp, NL
"Atomic" floor lamp manufactured in the 1950s, by the Majestic Lamp Co. of NYC. The lamp has a three way switch, first click turns on the bottom bulb, second click turns on the top b...
Brass
Elegant Mid-Century Floor Lamp – Black Painted Iron Lamp with Milk-Glass Shade
By Stilnovo
Located in Weesp, NL
Elegant Mid-Century Floor Lamp – Black Painted Iron with Milk-Glass Shade in the style of Stilnovo. Dimensions: H 107 cm × W 28 cm × D 28 cm (approx. H 42.1” × W 11.0” × D 11.0”) D...
Metal, Brass
Mid-Century Modern Chrome Italian Floor Lamp
By Lumi
Located in Weesp, NL
Lumi Italy Mid-Century Modern chrome floor lamp. This lamp featured in Alain Delon's 1973 cult movie "no way back". The lamp has 15 glass spheres and eac...
Chrome
Coupe Floor Lamp by Joe Colombo for O-Luce
By Joe Colombo, O-Luce
Located in New York, NY
Coupe Floor Lamp by Joe Colombo for O-Luce, 1967 Italy. This adjustable iconic floor lamp is made of lacquered metal.
Metal
Joe Colombo Model #3320/R 'Coupé' Floor Lamp in Black for Oluce
By Joe Colombo, Oluce
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Joe Colombo Model #3320/R 'Coupé' floor lamp in black for Oluce. Comprising a lacquered metal base, adjustable chrome stem, and adjustable reflector in lacquered aluminum, this is one of the most refined Minimalist Italian designs of the midcentury and a defining icon for Colombo. The dome can be rotated up/down and right/left. Originally designed in 1967, this iconic lamp is still made by Oluce in Italy using many of the original manufacturing techniques with scrupulous attention to detail, materials, and craftsmanship. The Coupé series was initially conceived as a variation of the Spider family, of which it has kept its base and stem. In 1968, Coupé won the ”International Design Award” of the American Institute of Interior Designers in Chicago. It is part of the permanent collection at both the MoMA in New York and the ”Neue Sammlung” Museum in Munich. Price is per item. Available to order in unlimited quantities in choice of white or black. The Coupé is also available as the smaller Mini Coupé ‘Model 2201’ table lamp, a larger 'Model 2202' table lamp, a straight floor lamp 'Model 3321,' or a pivoting wall...
Metal, Aluminum, Chrome
Joe Colombo Floor Lamp 'Coupé 3320' Black by Oluce
By Oluce, Joe Colombo
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Floor lamp 'Coupé 3320' designed by Joe Colombo in 1967. Floor lamp giving direct light, metal lacquered base and structure, revolving and height adjustable chromium-plated arc, lacq...
Metal, Aluminum
Joe Colombo Floor Lamp 'Coupé 3320' Black by Oluce
By Joe Colombo, Oluce
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Floor lamp 'Coupé 3320' designed by Joe Colombo in 1967. Floor lamp giving direct light, metal lacquered base and structure, revolving and height adjustable chromium-plated arc, lac...
Metal, Aluminum
1960s Joe Colombo for Oluce Coupe 3321 Vintage Mid-Century Italian Floor Lamp
By Joe Colombo, Oluce
Located in Keego Harbor, MI
A vintage Coupe 3321 floor lamp by Joe Colombo for Oluce. This is an iconic Italian modern lamp with an award winning design, taking the International Design Award from the American ...
Metal
Floor Lamp o-luce "3320 R Coupe" Model Design Joe Colombo, 1967
By Joe Colombo, Oluce
Located in taranto, IT
Rare original floor lamp from the 70s, oluce production, coupè 3320R model, designed by Joe Colombo White color, aluminum diffuser, metal base and curved steel structure It mea...
Metal, Aluminum, Steel
