Description
Martinelli Luce celebrates Cobra lamp 50th anniversary with twenty-three signature re-editions by designers and artists working with the brand, among which Area-17 Architecture & Interiors. The new projects were disclosed at La Triennale di Milano on the occasion of the exhibition- event Cobra Texture, which opened February 27th, 2018. Each new edition comes in 30 signed and numbered pieces, plus three art trials.
Elio Martinelli designed Cobra in 1968 and yet it is one of the most iconic pieces of the whole Martinelli Luce’s collection. An object enclosed in a sphere, Cobra is formed by two molded volumes in heat-curing resin, one of which rotates around the central pivot making it possible to change the appearance. Originally created in the black and white versions, it was and still is a futuristic design, contemporary enough to find its way into international movies, today as in the past decades.
The concept of the texture by Area-17 roots in the reinterpretation of the pure geometric shape, distinguishing feature of the original Cobra as well as the whole Elio Martinelli’s production. The black-and-white optical pattern redesign the shape through a geometrical contrast. At the same time, it pays homage to the aesthetic of the ‘60s, when the lamp originated in the first place. The exactly fifty stripes also hint to the anniversary whose the initiative marks the occasion. They explode outside in the matching packaging that strengthen the idea of the re-edition exclusivity.
Other than Area-17, several international designers and artists took part to the Cobra Texture project, among which Karim Rashid, Paola Navone, Alessandro Mendini, Marc Sadler, and Emiliana Martinelli herself, Elio’s daughter, today president and creative spirit of Martinelli Luce.
