Dezeen Magazine

Foundation at Spazio Krizia

Formafantasma presents lighting designs that exploit geometry, colour and shadow

Formafantasma is showcasing a series of lighting designs and experiments in Milan, including golden hoops that project circles of light and slender beams that create colourful refractions.

Foundation at Spazio Krizia

On show at Spazio Krizia throughout Milan design week, Foundation brings together 16 different lighting pieces by the Amsterdam-based design duo, Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin.

It includes both old and new designs, and encompasses finished projects, study pieces and works in progress.

Foundation at Spazio Krizia

According to Farresin, the aim is to give an insight into the pair's process: focusing on the lighting the pieces will create, rather than the forms of the lamps themselves.

Foundation at Spazio Krizia

"We're showing different objects that investigate light from different perspectives," he told Dezeen at the exhibition opening.

"There are elements that look at lighting objects, and others that look at colours, or relationships with shadows."

Foundation at Spazio Krizia

Upon arriving, the first piece visitors see is Ellipse. Designed for the TextielMuseum in Tilburg, the Netherlands, it features a large disc covered in pale blue and gold fabric.

"We really hate colourful lighting, when the room turns into a different colour," said Farresin. "But this was a way of adding colour without changing the colour of the light."

Foundation at Spazio Krizia

Another recent design on show is Magnifiers, a series of suspended brass rings that create overlapping circles of light on the floor below. This effect was achieved by separating the LED light from the optics.

Foundation at Spazio Krizia

Other designs in the show include Colore, which naturally create flashes of colour; Eclisse, which looks like a solar eclipse; and Elmetto, which is made from brass circles.

Foundation at Spazio Krizia

Trimarchi and Farresin founded their studio after graduating from Design Academy Eindhoven in 2009. They ranked at number 132 in the inaugural Dezeen Hot List – a countdown of the most newsworthy names in architecture and design.

Past projects include objects made from lavaunusual timepieces, and objects inspired by Rome's ancient ruins.

Foundation at Spazio Krizia

This latest exhibition is timed to coincide with the launch of two new lights, created by Formafantasma for Italian lighting brand Flos. They are being presented at the Salone del Mobile as part of Euroluce.

Foundation is on display at Spazio Krizia, Via Daniele Manin 21, until 9 April 2017.