Ceiling Lamp Designed by Gae Aulenti for Martinelli Luce Italy 1969

Elio Martinelli

Elio Martinelli (1922 - 2004), a striking example of Made in Italy, was a designer, architect and even an entrepreneur. Start a company in the lighting sector, taking inspiration from established Italian brands. He graduated in scenography in Florence in 1947. In those years he held two different occupations; one of these is the management of the family shop, the other concerns the activity of interior architect. Shortly thereafter, he installed a machine for printing opal methacrylate, giving rise to iconic lamps such as Serpente (1965), Cobra (1968), Foglia and Flex (1969).

Gae Aulenti

Gae Aulenti (1927 - 2012), was an Italian architect and designer. In 1953 he graduated in architecture from the Milan Polytechnic. Gae Aulenti is trained as an architect in a historical period where Italian architecture is engaged in that historical cultural research of recovery of the architectural values of the past and of the existing built environment. These architectural expressions were formed thanks to the current of Neorealism and then will materialize with Neoliberty. Aulenti is part of this path, which arises as a reaction to rationalism. Its architecture can be understood as closely connected with the existing urban environment, which almost becomes its generating form, trying, with this, to transfer the multiplicity and intensity of the elements into its architectural space, which define the urban universe. From 1974 to 1979 he was a member of the Steering Committee of the "Lotus International" magazine, then he made artistic experiences and from 1976 to 1978 he collaborated with Luca Ronconi in Prato at the Theater Design Laboratory. In 1984 she was appointed correspondent of the National Academy of San Luca in Rome, while from 1995 to 1996 she was president of the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. In 2005 he established Gae Aulenti Architetti Associati.
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Gae Aulenti and his table with wheels