Marco FerreriMarco Ferreri is an amazing and innovative Italian designer who was born in Imperia Italy, graduated from the Politecnico of Milan in 1981. Ferreri, like many Italian designers, studied architecture originally, but now designs everything from urban planning projects to furniture. In his career he has been noted for his furniture designs such as the Is Stool which is part of a collection of MoMA.

One of his more recent works is an awe-inspiring light installation, The Puraluce, which was designed for the high end lighting manufacturer Studio Italia Designs and is one of our favorites. The molded-plastic Puraluce light debuted inside Milan’s Basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiore, in the chapel of Saint Aquilino. The larger-than-life modern light installation was composed of a steel frame and twelve beams, from which fine strips of white nylon cascade to feature a total of 576 gleaming bulbs.  The perfect synthesis for a work of art, the installation evoked the sterile power of the luminous element, the totality of absolute glare, and the abstraction of its impossible solidity.

On the floor, adjacent to the energetic monolith, was a rug of light, which featured another 196 bulbs. The vertical and horizontal modules result in a work of art that puts the viewer between solid and evanescent states and between complex and apparent simplicity. It brings the stark white light of modernity and that of traditional religiosity full circle.  For those that would like to implement this masterpiece in their own space, without the hefty electricity bill – Studio Italia Design offers suspended and application models at a much smaller scale. Ferreri is also responsible for the design vision behind Studio Italia Design’s Miniroy, Soap, Betta, Incanto, Pietra, and Road Collections. Visit Ferreri’s website at http://www.marcoferreridesign.it/ and Studio Italia Design at http://www.sid-usa.com/. Click any picture for a larger version:

Puraluce Close Up

Puraluce Close Up

Puraluce Wall

Puraluce Wall

Puraluce Room

Puraluce Room

Puraluce Lighting

Puraluce Lighting