Toyo floor lamp
(2025)
Medium
metal, plastic, synthetic rubber and electrical components
Measurements
43.7 × 41 × 144 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists, 2025
© Jonathan Ben-Tovim
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
Industrial designer Jonathan Ben-Tovim’s practice explores material culture through sculptural lighting and furniture, often incorporating repurposed materials like car bonnets and snow skis. His Toyo floor lamp reinterprets Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni’s iconic 1962 Toio lamp. While the original lamp celebrated raw industrial simplicity, Toyo embodies the futuristic aesthetics of modern automotive design. Like the original, it uses an off-the-shelf automotive headlamp (from a Toyota Corolla Aurus 2009–11); however, the addition of more complex components highlights the evolution of technology over six decades.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Melbourne, Victoria
Accession Number
2025.677
Department
Contemporary Design and Architecture