Alessandro Mendini glass and metal "Cubosfera" table lamp by Fidenza Vetraria

Table lamp in printed glass with metal components. Designed by Alessandro Mendini, produced by Fidenza Vetraria, in the year 1968.

A triumph of geometry, a perfect glass cube containing a sphere. This is the lamp designed by Alessandro Mendini in 1968, a year of historical significance, social upheaval, cultural ferment, and revolutionary attempts. In fields of undeniable success, such as design, Mendini's curious project is testament to it — a lamp named "Cubosfera," already a declaration of love for the disruptive power arising from the clash of opposites, a power destined to become a creative force for changing the status quo. Isn't this the role of avant-gardes?

Mendini's ingenuity has always been involved in avant-garde and radical approaches to design, from the early days of his career, through constant theoretical activity and all his creations. Objects and architectures that might seem mere provocations if not accompanied by constant reference to the common heritage of inherited classical forms and the role of decorative motifs as anthropological phenomena. But not only that, constant references to art and literature characterize Mendini's approach. It's impossible not to associate his name with the Proust armchair, baroque and colorful, a seat necessary for embarking on one's own personal "Recherche."

All objects and furnishings rich in charm, not devoid of irony, which also find expression in this lamp's contradiction, apparent or not - judgment we leave to those who will flip the switch - between the mobility of the sphere and the fixity of the cube.
Two parts in printed glass, containing the electrical components that enable its illumination, when overlapped reveal a complete sphere, somewhat evanescent, but once lit, it will assert itself. With a curious optical effect, the cube disappears, and the luminous sphere predominates: observing it in its roundness, one is struck with the fear that it might roll off the table, so perfect is it as a luminous marble. But this does not happen, and once the power is cut off, the cube reappears in its rigorously stable geometry of six sides, a sensation amplified by the icy nature of glass.

Light and dark, cold and warmth, cube and sphere. A single object capable of offering itself to the senses with a multiplicity of suggestions in perfect balance; isn't this the enchantment of design? What it means to place such an object in a decor, to possess an object so intimately linked to Mendini's rich and fertile professional and existential trajectory, is narrated by the design itself in interviews where it revisits some meanings of his work: ""The last freedom is played out within the house because in the city and at work, one is a prisoner. In the prison of the house, however, one returns to freedom. Indeed, it is the only space of anarchy."

The lamp is in perfect original condition and functioning. Three identical specimens are available.

Dimensions: 16W x 16D x 16.5H cm

Bibliography: Domus number 467, October 1968, p. 35