Centennial Celebration

Two exhibitions in 2018 celebrate the 100th birth year of the late, great Italian designer Achille Castiglioni.

- Aaron De Silva

His name might not ring a bell with the average man in the street. In fact, said man might even find the name – Achille Castiglioni (1918– 2002) – a bit of a tongue-twister. (For reference, it’s pronounced Ah-key-lay Kass-tea-lee-oni).

But chances are, if you show said man an image of an iconic Castiglioni design, such as the Arco lamp, his face will light up in recognition. Conceived in 1962, the lamp is a near-ubiquitous component of any modern interior design scheme.

It remains Castiglioni’s most successful – if widely copied – design.