Bernard Rooke Brutalist Dragon Fly and Leaf Floor Lamp Organic Style 1960-1970

An organic and Brutalist style Butterly table lamp. No chips or cracks. Easily retired for all regions. Bernard Rooke (born 1938) is a British artist and studio potter. Rooke has exhibited his "Brutalist" ceramics and painting both in the UK and abroad with work in many collections both public and private including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, Nuffield Foundation, Röhsska Museum in Sweden and the Trondheim Kunstmuseum in Norway. Bernard Rooke attended Ipswich School of Art studying painting and lithography before going on to study at Goldsmiths College of Art. It was while studying here that he decided to take up pottery. Although unfamiliar with this craft and tradition, he found that working with clay provided new opportunities for freedom of interpretation and creativity. In 1960 Rooke set up his first pottery in Forest Hill in South London along with Alan Wallwork. It was a very small room with enough space for a small electric kiln. He was initially using mainly hand building, coiling, blocking and slabbing techniques. While researching ideas, he was supporting himself by part-time lecturing at London University, Goldsmiths College and St Mary's College. In addition, Rooke's membership of 'The Craftsman Potters' Association' enabled him to show his work in a shop in Carnaby Street in London. In 1967, both the need for a larger working space and becoming disillusioned with living in London spurred Rooke into moving out of the city and to an old mill building in Swilland in Suffolk. Rooke wanted to widen the range of work so as to become more commercial. With the birth of his son, Aaron, and much needed work to be done on the mill, it was important to be able to make a living. In 1968, the Grand Metropolitan Hotel commissioned Rooke to make 120 standard lamps, 120 table lamps as well as a 24 foot long ceramic mural and another 9 foot high, which incorporated interior lighting. The money from the commission helped to pay for much needed restoration work on the mill. By the 1970s, a gallery space was opened in the windmill and run by Susan Rooke, Bernard's wife, selling work to locals and tourists as well as to American airmen based nearby. The vision for Mill Gallery was beginning to develop and alongside this a reputation was building bringing in a good source of income. Sons Aaron and Felix were becoming more involved with the running of the pottery, giving Bernard more time to develop new ideas and designs and more time to continue with his painting. In 2004, the Rooke family decided not to sell to the public through the gallery anymore and close the pottery to concentrate more on painting and printmaking. In 2017 Bernard's lighting was featured in the Exhibition: “Glass, Light, Paint & Clay” at the Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery. The exhibition featured four artists: Bernard Rooke, John Maltby...

This rare table lamp was designed by Vico Magistretti for the Italian manufacture Artemide during the 1960s, it is one of 2 that we currently have in stock. The lamp is made from one main piece of white plastic. Dalù is one a wonderful expression of Magistretti’s design ethos and reflects his belief that beauty and everyday functionality should be equally important in the object. Vico Magistretti was born in Milan. He attended Parini High School before he enrolled in the Regio Politecnico Faculty of Architecture in Milan in the fall of 1939. In 1943-1944 he moved to Switzerland, where he attended several academic courses at the Champ Universitarie Italien in Lausanne. It was then that he spent time with Ernesto Nathan Rogers, who had a key influence on his intellectual education. In 1945 he returned to Milan, where he graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at the Polytechnic University. He immediately started working for his father's company, the architect Piergiulio Magistretti, in via Conservatorio. The 1950s were a very busy and fruitful period for the young architect, who came up with many innovative ideas and very quickly became one of the most outstanding representatives of the third generation. Over the next few years he worked as a designer as well as an architect, creating furniture and objects that will always be classics of contemporary production. It was then that he was awarded the Golden Compass for the Eclisse lamp (1967).He then started working with important companies such as Artemide, Campeggi, Cassina, De Padova, Flou, Fontana Arte, Fritz Hansen, Kartell, Olivari, Oluce, Poggi, Schiffini Mobili Cucine and Gebrüder Thonet Vienna. His design works are in the permanent collection of MoMA - Museum of Modern Art in New York and in many other museums in America and Europe. In the field of architecture, it is worth mentioning his nomination as an honorary member of the Royal College of Art in London, where he was also a visiting professor. He also participated in exhibitions and conferences in Europe, Japan and the USA. Established in the 1960s, Artemide is one of the most famous lighting brands in the world. Known for its philosophy, The Human Light...

Vintage metal pineapple leaf floor lamp by Boulanger. Charming natural lamp just like the pineapple leaf table lamps but here offered in a rare floor lamp edition. The glass base a...

Italian floor lamp with eight « flowers » in the spirit of Angelo Lelli for Arredoluce. Italian floor lamp from the 1950s with eight branches, featuring lacquered metal lampshades sh...