Catellani & Smith is an Italian company that designs and produces "luminous creations", under the influence of its founder and artistic director Enzo Catellani. The company, which has its headquarters in an old restored mill in the Bergamo hills, has always combined passion, design and high-quality materials. Now present all over the world, Catellani & Smith meets the needs of a clientele that shares and appreciates the values of love for design, quality and originality. In Catellani & Smith's extensive production there is a clear division between lamps and chandeliers mass-produced and those tailored to a demanding clientele. This last type of realization is part of tailoring, a process that follows a well-defined design. The first step is the meeting with the client and the deepening of his expectations. Once all input has been received from the client, the Catellani & Smith working group meets to elaborate the first ideas and possible realizations. This group includes both craftsmen, who work the pieces with their own hands, and technology experts, who study the design and technical aspects of the lamps. Once the road has been decided, all the designers discuss its feasibility and begin with the elaboration of the prototype, an essential moment in the creative process. Once it has been verified that the prototype reflects both the customer's and the company's expectations, we proceed with the tailor-made production of the unique piece.
Indoor and outdoor lamps Catellani & Smith
Catellani & Smith is known not only for the lighting of private spaces, but also for special lighting projects dedicated to churches, museums, art galleries, theatres and spaces where the light/shadow dialogue is particularly felt. In addition to indoor lighting, much of the brand's production is dedicated to outdoor lamps such as the More F, a torch-shaped lamp made with hand-molded handmade glass and LED light. Or the Medouse F, a table lamp for outdoor use, in different sizes, which can also be placed on the floor, on flowerbeds and in strategic points in the garden. Among the various lamps created by the company and recognized as pieces of great artistic value, we remember the 56 Petits Bijoux, a brass LED pendant lamp, defined as pure "static movement". At the basis of its realization, we find the concept of concentric circles that are created on the surface of the water when a stone is thrown. The sphere and the circle represent for Catellani the idea of perfection and infinity, which are reflected in valuable pieces like this one, the result of a craftsmanship of the highest level. Alchemie T is a LED table lamp in alabaster and brass, which investigates the relationship between darkness and light. A small sculptural installation, this lamp is composed of two discs that run parallel on tracks, from which a strong light/shadow interaction is released when, overlapping each other, they create a "domestic" eclipse. The stone base and alabaster discs make this mobile lamp/sculpture even more precious.
Since 1989, Catellani & Smith revolutionizes the concept of light
Enzo Catellani founded Catellani & Smith in 1989, after running a lamp shop. His continuous observation of the product and the need for experimentation led him to his first creation, presented at the Frankfurt Environmental Fair. Thanks to the extraordinary success that Catellani & Smith had right from the start, Catellani & Smith left their work in the shop to dedicate themselves completely to the creation of lighting points, mostly made to measure, for their customers. Indoor and outdoor domestic spaces, museums, churches, events become the places where to measure oneself to show one's creativity, which is also recognized through the installation of works such as the Macchina della Luce in the Casa Battlò by Antonio Gaudì in Barcelona in 2008 or awarded by the prestigious Wallpaper Award in 2012; in 2010, instead, the iconic Fil de Fer, now available for table or ceiling, was chosen to represent Made in Italy in the Italian pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo. Since the nineties, it's all a succession of collections that break through the hearts (and eyes) of customers, even famous ones who love original and striking lighting. In 2003, for example, Claudio Baglioni asked Enzo Catellani to set the stage for the show O'Scià a Lampedusa, followed by the one designed for the Petruzzelli Theatre in Bari, again to illuminate one of the famous singer's shows. To date, there are dozens of iconic creations, requested by VIPs, design newspaper editors and architects, to illuminate spaces where light plays an equal role compared to installations and other works of art.