Jacques Biny

Jaques Biny (1913-1976) is a lighting designer active in France since the '50s. Ever since he was young he shows interest in architecture and decoration, in 1932 starts his studies at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and, after graduating in 1935, he dedicated to interior design. To face the lack of lighting systems for the modern houses, Jaques Biny starts to design his first models of lamps, which will be later distributed by Decoration Architecturale. In 1953, he decides to found his firm with the name Luminalite, reproducing the great designers' models such as Jean Boris Lacroix and Michel Buffet. But the real success arrives in the '60s when he starts to dedicate to public spaces lighting. Among its most popular creations, there is the Biny Table Lamp. His design is focused on the use of bold new materials such as metal and perspex, designing lamps with new and flexible shapes thanks to pivot and arms that allow giving a direction to light simply and functionally. Still today, his products are very much researched by collectors and '50s lighting design lovers.