Michele De Lucchi

Born in Ferrara in 1951, Michele De Lucchi studied in Padua and then at the University of Florence, where he graduated in 1975 and later taught.

In the years of radical and experimental architecture he was a member of groups such as Cavart, Alchimia and Memphis.

He designed for Studio Alchimia and, in the 1980s, for Memphis: he was one of the leading figures in the use of geometric decorative patterns on plastic laminate that characterises Memphis furniture.

In 1979 he became a consultant to Olivetti in Ivrea.

He has designed lamps and furniture for leading Italian and European companies and developed experimental projects for Compaq, Philips, Siemens and Vitra.

Many of his interior designs for service spaces have been built for Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Bahn, Enel, Poste Italiane and Telecom Italia.

He has also designed buildings for public and private museums. His professional work has always gone hand in hand with personal research into design, drawing, technology and craftsmanship.

Tolomeo (1987, with Giancarlo Fassina) - lamp - Artemide - Compasso d'Oro 1989

The Tolomeo lamp was a huge success and received the Compasso d'Oro in 1989.

It is one of the best-selling design lamps in the world and is made in a great many versions: floor, table, wall, pendant, clamp and mini.

This project mattered not only for its symbolic value but also for De Lucchi's career: it marked a turning point, clearly separating everything he had done before from what would come after.

A selection of his products is on show in leading museums in Europe, the United States and Japan.

In 2003 the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris acquired several of his products, shown for a year in two rooms of the permanent collection.

Gioconda (2001) - calculator - Olivetti

De Lucchi has designed products for Artemide, Dada, Kartell, Matsushita, Mauser, Poltrona Frau and Olivetti, where he was head of design from 1992.