Ara Table Lamp in Polished Chromed Metal by Philippe Starck for Flos, Italy, 1988

Ara table or desk lamp in polished chrome provides direct illumination. The head adjusts to direct lighting at a 90-degree angle. Designed by Philippe Starck in 1988 for Flos. Measurements: Height: 55 – 56,5 cm Lampshade: 27,5 cm Base: Ø 17,5 cm Philippe Starck was born in Paris, France in 1949. He is the son of André Starck, an aeronautical engineer and founder of Avions André Starck (airplane designer) and Jacqueline Lanourisse. Philippe Starck began his schooling at the Notre-Dame de Sainte-Croix institution in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris. He then studied at the Camondo school in Paris, under the leadership of Henry Malvaux. Starck designed an inflatable structure in 1969, initiating a reflection on materiality, and showed an interest in places to live. Shortly after, Pierre Cardin offered him the post of artistic director of his publishing house. At the same time, he founded his first industrial design agency, Starck Product. He renamed it into Ubik6 in reference to the famous novel by Philip Kindred Dick. He began his collaborations with Alessi, Aprilia, Disform, Driade, Drimmer, Fossil, Kartell and Vitra. Philippe Starck has designed several hotels around the globe and also Steve Jobs‘s yacht, Venus. In the 1980’s a long and exclusive collaboration with FLOS begins, which sheds light on a series of international successes also called cult objects such as this ARA’ table lamp, the Miss Sissi table lamp (1991), the Rosy Angelis floor lamp (1994), the Romeo table lamp (1998). The Superarchimoon floor lamp (2000), the Miss K table lamp (2003-2004), The Gun table lamp (2005), The KTribe table lamp (2007). The Chapeau table lamp (2013), the Bibliotheque Nationale floor lamp. The Bon Jour table lamp (2015), and many others. Most of the table lamps were also made in other versions such as floor lamps and pendant lamps.