Different Tendencies
Superstudio
Gherpe
Scene design: Duyi Han
Gherpe table or floor lamp
Produced by Design Centre for Poltronova, Italy
1967
Acrylic, chrome-plated steel and plastic
20 x 11.5 x 16 inches
50.8 x 29.2 x 40.6 centimeters
Price and detailed condition available upon request
Radical designers sought to remove an object’s form from its logical function. If a lamp didn’t look like a lamp, that was a good thing. Gherpe is a classic example, along with the Polaris, Dalia and Asteroide, of radical innovation. Some of the lamps, like Gherpe, can only be recognized as a lamp by its cord. The floor or table lamp comprises six U-shaped acrylic elements fixed together by two spheres. The U-shaped elements can be positioned to create different effects. This example features the original Design Centre label and comes from the self-styled “Furniture Pimp” Jim Walrod’s collection.
Images courtesy of R and Company