‘When I first moved into the Glass House, there was no light other than the sun,’ wrote Philip Johnson about his 1949-designed architectural masterpiece in New Canaan, Connecticut. ‘You can imagine the problem with reflections. If you had one bulb, you saw six.’
Johnson tasked lighting designer Richard Kelly with devising an atmospheric lighting solution that would sit and fit perfectly into his architectural masterpiece, and the Johnson/Kelly floor light was born in 1953.
When design duo Craig Bassam and Scott Fellows of BassamFellows moved into another Johnson-designed gem the former home of Richard and Geraldine Hodgson in New Canaan, they were inspired to revive the design, which reflects light from the bulb upwards into a coned top, then down and out, spreading a soft glow.
Coming to market this autumn, the satin stainless steel floor lamp achieves a balance of character and anonymity – ‘a small piece of architecture’ as BassamFellows eloquently put it. ‘Its effect is subtly theatrical, part of an ensemble that shapes the ambiance of a room without dominating it.’
The Johnson/Kelly Floor Lamp is manufactured by BassamFellows under license and authorisation from The Glass House, The National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Estate of Richard Kelly.
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