Barber & Osgerby’s New Lamps Highlight the Geometric Beauty of the Cone

The cone has been a repeating motif in Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby’s design history. “There is something about the cone that we often return to,” says Barber. “There’s an energy in its form,” adds Osgerby. Dedicating an entire collection to the perfection of this shape, the studio designed Signals, which comprises floor, wall, and pendant lamps made from a series of dualities: two materials, two geometries, and two different fabrication techniques. The collection is currently on view through March 26, 2022 at Galerie Kreo, the studio’s first solo exhibition at the London-based art gallery.

Signals is the epitome of the studio’s design style of “engineered craft,” a mix of industrial and artisanal elements in an object. The body of the angular lamps are made by hand-formed, colorful aluminum box sections. The conical glass shades are mouth-blown by master artisans in the Venini workshops on the island of Murano, Venice. The shades have complex variations of soft, colored translucency depending on the thickness of the glass across the surface. When the lights are turned on, these hues take on brighter tones. The rigor construction of the lamp bodies coupled with the gentle fields of colors from the shades create a visible juxtaposition.

Central to the collection are totemic floor lamps that can be rotated to direct light. The multiple glass shades can be individually adjusted; one can provide direct lighting and another can be dimmed for a softer glow. This kind of responsive design that invites the viewer to engage and connect with the object highlights the studio’s preoccupation with visual energy and dynamic forms.

In naming the collection, the studio explains: “There are fragments from many different parts of our past work that have come into creating these objects,” says Osgerby. “Color compositions, making techniques, and familiar forms. Each light acts as a signal for these ideas,” adds Barber.

“Signals is a continuation of themes that have been evolving in the background of our work for some time,” says Osgerby. “It encompasses engineered craft, our love of Venini glass and color, and our enjoyment of working with light to change a space.”