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Lighting strikes: Lázaro Rosa-Violán’s new lamps for Metalarte

Spend a chic weekend in Barcelona and chances are you will visit at least one bar or restaurant designed by Lázaro Rosa-Violán. The Catalan interior designer has seduced the city with his signature style that cleverly draws from a set of beloved styles. It’s not unusual to see influences from French Provence, the Southern Mediterranean and tropical art deco in a Rosa-Violán interior, often all mixed together.

Given the success of projects such as El Nacional, Ultramarinos and Boca Grande, it was only a matter of time before Rosa-Violán started to make design objects signed with his own name. The first – two lamps called ‘Eva’ and ‘Frank’ – have been produced by Metalarte, the Spanish decorative lighting brand.

‘The lamps came about through the need to make elements that would fit within the spaces we create,’ says the designer from his sumptuous – and extremely busy – modernista-style studio in Barcelona’s Eixample district. 'They have the same purpose – to transmit sensations to physical objects’.

Elegant ‘Frank’ comes in two formats – standing and table – while ‘Eva’ was designed primarily for table use, her rounded belly kept on balance with a metal support. Materials such as marble, leather, brass and bevelled glass have been used – ‘noble’ materials that also feature in a Rosa-Violán room. 'These materials, with the right treatment, go from being a ‘block’ to something that is more sculptural and soft to touch,’ says the designer. 'With age they only become more attractive.’

Rosa-Violán’s studio, which trades under the name Contemporain, created a designated industrial design department to oversee the birth of 'Eva’ and 'Frank’. Will they have siblings? 'Yes,’ affirms Rosa-Violán, without sharing details other than, 'they are in the works.’