1 Table lamp 6" X 16"
1 Wall lamp 14" X 14"
1 Wall lamp 16" X 24"
This is a homage to Lucio Fontana. We perceive a painting as a flat, two-dimensional object, but Fontana revolutionized our understanding by cutting the canvas, revealing the void behind it and transforming the work into something three-dimensional. I employ the same principle but invert it. Rather than revealing emptiness through the cuts, I reveal light itself. By cutting through the shade, the light from within the fixture breaks through intensely at those points, creating a striking contrast with the softer, diffused glow that filters through the fabric elsewhere. The object transforms from a simple light fixture into a sculptural work. Like Fontana’s slashed canvas, this work fundamentally changes how we perceive the object itself. The name is inspired by Giò Ponti, who used to call these types of light fixtures: Quadri di luce. My twist: “Quadro di Lucio” is to underscore the homage to Fontana.
Jonathan Wajskol is an Italian-born designer working in the field of industrial design and visual communication. He is the founder of designwajskol, a multifaceted communications and identity design firm based in New York City.
designwajskol is involved both nationally and internationally in a broad range of disciplines including branding identity, way-finding, packaging design, product design and infographics, for the corporate as well as nonprofit sectors. Prior to establishing his firm, Wajskol worked in Milan for Future Brand, at Vignelli Associates in New York. Wajskol’s Dot calendar is in the AIGA National Design Archives and his Zen clock is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Design in Milan. Wajskol teaches in the Communication Design department at Parsons School of Design in New York City. In 2015, a monograph of Wajskol’s work was published with a foreword by Massimo Vignelli.