Gianfranco Frattini Metal Floor Lamp for Relco, 1970
Description
Gianfranco Frattini Metal Floor Lamp for Relco, metal and glass, Italy, 1970
The structure reads first. A tall black grid rises like a measured scaffold, turning the lamp into a vertical volume rather than a simple line. Light doesn’t spill outward immediately—it sits inside the frame, contained, edited. Within the lattice, a frosted cylindrical diffuser glows with an even, quiet intensity, while the chrome supports punctuate the composition like small, precise joints.
As you move around it, the lamp shifts between transparency and density. From one angle it feels almost weightless—just a graphic outline in space. From another, the grid compresses into a darker column, and the diffuser becomes a soft core, suspended at the center. It’s this tension—hard geometry against a warm, clouded light—that gives the piece its presence without making it loud.
The circular base keeps everything grounded and calm, letting the vertical rhythm do the work. The impression is architectural, but not severe: more like a screen, a filter, a controlled atmosphere—exactly the kind of rational elegance Italian lighting explored at the turn of the 1970s.
In attitude, it shares the structural clarity you see in Franco Albini and the engineered intelligence associated with Achille Castiglioni, while staying distinctly Frattini in its restraint and proportion.
Gianfranco Frattini (1926–2004) was a Milanese architect and designer known for disciplined forms and meticulous detail, creating objects where construction becomes part of the aesthetic—clean, resolved, and quietly confident.
Dimensions
Height: 74.41 in (189 cm)
Diameter: 15.75 in (40 cm)
Design
1970s
Manufacture
1970-1979
Material
Metal and Glass
Location
Lonigo, IT
Condition
The floor lamp is authentic of the period with verified provenance and documented age. The metal elements may show slight signs of patina consistent with their age and considered a hallmark of authenticity. All components including screws and secondary details have been carefully verified