Dossier 2008 © - Teclux

metalart e

History
Few companies can claim to have illuminated
the story of Spanish design since the times when
125-volt lamps were in use. Decorative ideas have
changed enormously since then, and Metalarte,
born in metalwork shop, has always been there,
steered by creativity.
The history of Metalarte is the history of a family
firm. Its origins go back to Construcciones Riera,
a company founded by Antonio Riera Clariana
when, in 1932, he decided to establish a metalwork
shop to make the iron pieces needed by the
building firm. In those days metalworkers could
show off their creations on buildings fronts.
They had not yet been forced into retirement
by aluminium carpentry and they were considered
“metal artist” by the applied arts guild. And so
they were. That is why the Riera family called their
first workshop Metalls Artes.
Managed by Antonio Riera, the company ceased
to work only on commission, launching its own
lines of doorknobs, household utensils and stylish
lamps. The first was produced in 1942 and
was baptised, logically enough, as nº1, because
in those days lamps were still not considered
designer objects, nor were they given names.
At that time, Spain was little more than a wasteland,
and the world was at war. Then came the
post-war period, and it was not until the mid-1950’s
that Antonio Riera began to travel to the Nordic
countries, attracted by the siren calls of burgeoning
Scandinavian design. There he found inspiration
for the new collections that Metal Artes launched
onto the market between 1954-1960, illustrated
by a first catalogue of hand-coloured photos.
They were a success those were boom years.
The company became firmly established and began
to be seen as a reference point in the lighting
industry. The company also changed its name once
more, introducing Metalarte and a corporative
image, something quite normal nowadays, but
a distinctly odd-sounding idea in those times.
Antonio Riera wanted to take his company into
the future and even then he was aware that this
meant taking the path of design.
Until then, the lamps from Metal Artes had no
recognised designer, as they were not yet signed.
It is suffice to take a look, however, at the 1959
and 1962 models to see the amazing resemblance
these lamps have with others that can be seen
today in other company showrooms. In fashion,
what goes around comes around. These days, we
seek inspiration in the past, whilst in those bygone
days, when Spain was just starting to shake itself
out of its lethargy; businesses found their inspiration
in Europe, particularly in Italy. Antonio Riera
went a little further, to the United States. More than
inspiration, he was looking for inspired people,
and in New York he found George W. Hansen an
American of Danish origin who, whilst serving
in the army on the Island of Labrador, designed
a lamp that would later become the Swing Arm.
Hansen was the catalyst for Metalarte selling
lamps abroad.
This American-style lamp is still one of the firm’s
biggest sellers, one of those life-long success
stories that are so difficult to achieve, but not
impossible if you try hard enough. With everything
still to do, in those times, Metalarte produced two
lines of products, one neoclassical, the other more
modern in style, designed by the technical
department. The company lived in the present
whilst not forgetting the past.
We are pioneers commissioning design.
André Ricard, today one of the most prestigious
Spanish designers but during the 70s he was
just another promising talent. He came to Metalarte
with a few drawings for a lamp under his arm.
It did not look like a lamp. It was small, with a
twisted shape, supported by three brightly-coloured
ABS arms that gave it a pop look very much in line
with the times. We need to imagine the scene;
what now appears as a regular meeting between
a manufacturer and a designer was, in those days,
a veritable act of faith. Riera’s courage did not
fail him, though, and in 1970 he launched Ricard’s
lamp on the market, the work of one that we
would now call an emerging or up-and-coming
designer. Both Antonio Riera and his brother
Carlos are the kind of people who do not see
business as merely profit and loss, but are capable
of braving unknown territory to put good ideas
into practice. Carlos Riera already knew what it
was like to win a National Design Prize.
He received one during his time in charge of
Disform, also for his pioneering courage.

Future
His was the merit of being the first manufacturer to
produce a design by Philippe Starck. Metalarte has
always been ready to give breaks, and this is part
of its success. In the 1970’s following their
collective nose as ever, they banked on Enrich
Franch, and once more hit the jackpot. Franch’s
Calder (1974), which was Metalarte’s first halogen
lamp, also took the honour of becoming the first
Spanish design to be selected to form part of the
MoMA permanent collection in New York. It is still
there, in the museum and in commerce, a classic of
contemporary design. The company continued to
hire new designers.
Metalarte breezed through the happy 80s as the
prince of Spanish lighting companies. It was time
to venture into the outside world, and preparations
were made to disembark abroad when Román
Riera, son of Antonio and nephew of Carlos, joined
the firm in 1982. Román, who represents the third
generation of his family still remains at the helm of
Metalarte today, extended the sales network and
took on the export market.
Less fortunate was the case with Ross Lovegrove.
This Welsh designer, now internationally renowned,
was given an opportunity. Lovegrove worked with
Julian Brown, and in 1992 the pair jointly designed
a lamp, which went entirely unnoticed. Although
Lovegrove’s designs had still to reach full maturity,
that lamp was not so bad. A few years earlier it
would have sold well, but the economic situation
did not help.
After the Barcelona Olympic Games and the Seville
Expo in 1992, a national crisis set in, seriously
affecting the whole design industry. The market fell
flat. Metalarte suffered as much as anyone during
those difficult years. Only the strongest survived.
In 1997, Román Riera sought to escape the crisis
by injecting more creativity, hiring Carlos Riera as
the company’s Art Director.
With Carlos Riera at the helm of the family business
Metalarte went from strength to strength.
Riera built on his experience at Disform where
he also gained a great deal of notoriety with
established professionals from Lievore to Starck.
To this day Starck still likes to remind people that it
was Riera that gave him his first opportunity. As Art
Director, Carlos Riera is pivotal in the success of
each product ensuring every product is fully
developed prior to being launched.
In 2002, the great challenge came with the new
millennium, when the Feliu de la Peña (Troll) group
took out a majority shareholding, injecting new
resources that enabled the company to undertake
projects of broader scope. New offices were
opened, still in Sant Joan Despí, but with a
completely new look. Outside, the building is
painted in black whilst inside the spacious offices
and showroom are bathed in light. The new
facilities include a technical office that has been
converted into a research laboratory and the huge
warehouse, where lamps are assembled ready for
dispatch. The firm no longer manufactures in old
way, for Metalarte now is a modern company with
suppliers all over the world.
Carlos and Roman Riera are supported by all the
company’s departments and their partner, Feliu de
la Peña, who also knows the market like the back
of his hand. Without their support, the Metalab
collection would never have seen the light day.
Metalab was created to provide an outlet for more
daring projects, those that, at first glance, do not
seem suitable for conventional channels: a lamp
that floats on a swimming pool (Waterproof, Hector
Serrano, 2003); another enormous lamp that can be
used both outdoors and indoors (Inout, Otto
Canalda and Ramón Ubeda, 2003); a collection in
Pyrex (Liquid Lights, Fabrica, 2004), manufactured
without plans or mould; or a luxury lamp that give a
modern touch to the gilt and silver finishes we all
know and love (Josephine, Jaime Hayón, 2004).
Experiments that have later proven to be commerc i a l
successes. Products that close the same cycle that
has been repeated since the very beginning: what
seems surprising at first may later become a classic.
People at Metalarte know this better than anyone,
and that is why they will continue to produce lamps
to light the world, showing us clearly what we can
expect in the future .
In 2003 we went for a
s t r a t e g i c turn around and
a clear bet towards modern
and contemporary design.
F rom 2003 to 2005 Metalarte
was completely focused on
services: quality and delivery
time and the fact that we
a re most proud of is that
we have incorporated
38 new products into the
catalogue in the last 4 years.

P ro d u c t s

1954-1960

1970-1992

1993-2005

2008

Young designers

Best sellers
µ in the world
1 In o u t
2 J o s e p h i n e
3 L e w i t
4 D o j o
5 H o p p e r
6 N a w a
7 Josephine Queen
8 L i b r a
9 Hansen Euro p e
10 126 / 170 Hinson
11C o s t u r a
1 2 2344
USA 6%
Spain 45% E u rope 34%
Japan and
Australia 5%
Others 10%
Bespoke solutions
Metalarte’s own technical department
added to the knowledge in materials, gives
us the possibility to develop and manufacture
bespoke solutions, always in the area
of decorative illumination.
µ
does in Europe
around 62%
of its export
turnover
France 17%
Germany 17%
Switzerland 13%
belgium 10%
Sweeden 8%
Austria 7%
Italy 7%
Holland 7%
UK 4%
Turkey 4%

C o m m u n i c a t i o n

1969-1974

2003

2004

F a c t o r y
O ff i c e s
S h o w ro o m

1954 2003