Bianca Medium Floor Lamp
Details

Bianca is a family of luminaires with the decoration on the diffuser surface features an orderly series of shallow delicate grooves etched into the white glass, yielding an effect resembling small footprints on fresh snow. Mouth blown, belt sanded and dipped in acid to obtain the distinctive ‘silk effect’ typical of fine glassware, Bianca diffusers are available in three different diameters to complete all thirteen types of luminaires belonging to the family. The largest diffuser has a 50 cm diameter and, owing to its dimensions and the amount of glass involved, continues to pose a considerable challenge even for the ablest of glassbbottoms trained in the fixed-mould blowing technique, which – according to the traditional Venetian production process – is performed without any external aids for turning and shaping the glass blob inside the mould, but relies solely on the glassbbottom’s skill and lung capacity. Bianca is available in the following versions: table-top without stem, floor-standing with base and stem, pendant, wall-mounted and ceiling-mounted. The matt white coating applied to the various metal supports evokes the name and colour of the diffuser. Bianca produces a very warm, diffused and enveloping light emission in the surrounding environment.

MATERIALS
Opal Glass, Metal

COLORS
White

DIMENSIONS
H.130 x ø 30 cm

Brand
In 1881 Luigi Fontana starts his business in Milan, manufacturing float glass for the construction industry. As the century draws to a close, the company is producing refined bespoke and one-off glass furnishing accessories. Gio Ponti, former founding editor of Domus magazine, is invited to take over the company’s art direction in 1931. An eclectic character who is a key player in the cultural ferment of that period, Ponti is also one of the founders of ADI (the Italian Industrial Design Association). He curates the Milan Triennale events on various occasions, lectures at the Milan Polytechnic, and designs both public and private buildings, furnishings and objects that become part of the history of architecture and design. Several of the pieces he designs for FontanaArte are still in production, including the 0024, Bilia, Pirellina, and Pirellone lamps, and the Tavolino 1932 coffee table.