Carlotta de Bevilacqua

Carlotta de Bevilacqua is one of the leading figures in contemporary lighting design, as an architect, designer, educator and entrepreneur. Born in Milan in 1957, she grew up around design. Her mother was an architect, and some of her earliest memories are of visiting Bruno Danese’s first shop and workshop in Milan. She graduated in architecture from the Polytechnic of Milan in 1983 and founded her own studio that same year, working across architecture, interiors, lighting and communication.

In the early 1990s she began designing lighting for Artemide and Danese. She went on to play a central role in both companies, taking over and revitalising Danese around the turn of the millennium and rising through Artemide’s leadership. Today she is President and CEO of the Artemide Group and President of Danese Milano. She has also taught lighting design at the Polytechnic of Milan since 2001, and her work has been exhibited at the Milan Triennale and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Her design work is driven by research into how light affects people, their wellbeing and the spaces they live in, and it often brings new technology to market. Her Sui lamp of 2000 was one of Artemide’s first two LED designs, marking the start of the company’s shift to LED lighting. Since then her work has earned numerous patents and awards. Highlights include Copernico, a striking suspension of orbiting rings designed with Paolo Dell’Elce that won a Red Dot Design Award, and Tian Xia, recognised with a Good Design Award in 2010.

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