Callimaco Floor Lamp

The Callimaco is a key artifact of the Radical Design movement of the 1970s and 1980s, closely tied to the Memphis group that Ettore Sottsass founded in Milan in 1981. Memphis challenged functionalist orthodoxy by treating objects as cultural and expressive statements.

The Callimaco produces indirect ambient illumination. Its upward-facing reflective cone directs light toward the ceiling, creating a soft, diffused glow rather than a direct focused beam, making it well suited for atmospheric room lighting.

Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007) was an Austrian-born Italian architect and designer widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century design. Founder of the Memphis Group and a longtime design director at Olivetti, he brought a poetic, often subversive sensibility to objects ranging from typewriters to furniture to lighting.

Yes, the Callimaco remains in production by Artemide, the Milan-based lighting manufacturer that has produced the lamp since its introduction. It is available as a current catalogue piece rather than a limited or archival reissue.

Because the Callimaco provides indirect, ceiling-reflected light, it functions best as a primary ambient source in a room rather than a task light. Its sculptural column commands presence as a freestanding object, and its restrained palette allows it to hold its own alongside both modernist and contemporary interiors.