Louis Poulsen, world-renowned Danish lighting brand, reveal their collaboration with Danish-Icelandic artist, Olafur Eliasson, on a new, large-scale pendant light at Milan Design Week. Inspired by the relation between mathematical forms, the OE Quasi Light uses geometry to shape light and reinforces Louis Poulsen and Eliasson’s shared idea that good light = good life.
The light is composed of two contrasting geometric shapes, nested inside each other. The outer layer, a rigid aluminium frame, is in the shape of an Icosahedron (a form possessing 20 faces and 12 vertices), while the inner layer, in the shape of a dodecahedron (a form featuring 12 faces and 20 vertices) seemingly floats inside, reflecting the light in a spherical light distribution.
Bright LED lights are embedded at the vertices of the aluminium icosahedron, directing the light towards the lamp’s core: a white, inset pentagonal laminae made from polycarbonate. The light’s complex geometric shape is perceived differently depending on where the observer stands, creating endless interpretations and perspectives.
“I'm very excited to bring my longtime interest in geometry and light into this collaboration with Louis Poulsen to create the OE Quasi Light. What distinguishes it from so many lamps is that it shines in towards the core, from which the light is reflected back out onto the surroundings. In one form, the lamp combines precision in design with quality atmospheric lighting,” states Olafur Eliasson, artist.
Eliasson’s interest in polyhedrons, spheres and curves – the ongoing geometric investigations he has pursued for years with his studio team – stems from a desire to create alternatives to the dominant orthogonal thinking of modern architecture, art, and design, to find forms that can help counteract the numbing of our senses. This concern for the emotional and physical effects of our surroundings is at the core of the lamp that Eliasson has conceived for Louis Poulsen. Louis Poulsen has been dedicated to creating lights that are harmonious within their surroundings and have a positive effect on the viewer. Together with Eliasson they have created a product that demonstrates how good light creates good life.
An integral element in OE Quasi Light is its sustainability. The aluminium used is 100% recycled, while other materials are entirely recyclable and reusable. With the design enabling future disassembly to replace and recycle parts, OE Quasi Light was created with longevity in mind.
“Over two years ago, we enlisted Olafur Eliasson to create a new product for Louis Poulsen – and the result is extraordinary. The OE Quasi Light is an inspirational product. A purposeful design piece that is uplifting to those in its presence,” says Søren Mygind Eskildsen, CEO of Louis Poulsen. “At Louis Poulsen we have been designing light for over 145 years, and the challenge is always the same, crafting a light that does not just illuminate a room. A good light is functional and beautiful, but most importantly, interacts with and shapes the environment. I believe Eliasson’s OE Quasi Light will become a part of the heritage and history of Louis Poulsen, joining the ranks of our other iconic products, and creating good light for all”.
About Louis Poulsen
Founded in 1874, Danish lighting manufacturer Louis Poulsen creates products that encompass the duality of design and light. Every detail in the design has a purpose. Every design starts and ends with light. Louis Poulsen offers a range of lighting aimed at the commercial and domestic lighting markets, with lighting fixtures and solutions for both indoor and outdoor applications. In close partnership with designers and architects like Poul Henningsen, Arne Jacobsen, Verner Panton, Øivind Slaatto, Alfred Homann, Oki Sato, and GamFratesi, Louis Poulsen has established itself as one of the world's key suppliers of architectural and decorative lighting and has a global presence with dedicated showrooms in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Singapore, Miami, Oslo, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Dusseldorf.
About Olafur Eliasson
Artist Olafur Eliasson (Iceland/Denmark), born in 1967, works in a wide range of media, including installation, painting, sculpture, photography, and film. Since 1997, his solo shows have appeared in major museums around the world. As part of his practice, he engages with arts education, policy-making, and issues of sustainability and climate change. Eliasson’s projects in public space include The New York City Waterfalls, 2008, Your rainbow panorama, 2006–11; Ice Watch, 2014; and Fjordenhus, Vejle, 2018. In 2012 Eliasson founded the social business Little Sun that produces solar lamps for off-grid communities, and in 2014 he and architect Sebastian Behmann founded Studio Other Spaces, an office for art and architecture. olafureliasson.net
Press release, August 2019