New entry at Arredoluce: Giulio Cappellini has been appointed as artistic director. The company is one of those that have made the history of lighting Made in Italy. Founded in Monza in 1943 by the designer-entrepreneur Angelo Lelii, over the years the firm has created products by great design masters: Gio Ponti, Ettore Sottsass, Nanda Vigo, the Castiglioni brothers and Lelii himself.
Cappellini has a dual mission: to work on reissues of historic projects with a philological approach, staying as close as possible to the originals in terms of styling and technical content; and to use his international stature as a talent scout (he has been one of the first clients of designers like Jasper Morrison, Marc Newson, Marcel Wanders, the Bouroullec brothers and Nendo) to identify names and proposals that bring continuity to the philosophy of Arredoluce, ushering the brand into the contemporary scene.
“For Arredoluce, first of all we need to do a screening of the enormous heritage of historic products created by great designers, evaluating their timeliness today. The reissued pieces will keep faith with the image of the originals, undergoing only technological updates. Not a matter of nostalgia, but an attempt to narrate the great masterpieces of the past for today’s audience,” Cappellini says. “The historic masters will be flanked by contemporary talents, in line with the versatile DNA of Arredoluce. It is always fascinating to discover and explain a corporate history, and the semantic complexity of this brand is very intriguing.”
Arredoluce – together with Penta and Castaldi – is now part of Auralis, the Italian lighting group helmed by CEO Andrea Citterio. This new appointment marks the start of a new phase for the company: “It is a path that will unfold over time,” Cappellini concludes. “And I hope it can bring new impulses to the evolution of contemporary design.”
