Ygnacio Baranga Osqar Table Lamp

Materials: Black almost square cube base with a fuse and built-in transformer 220 volt to 12 volt and dimmer. Adjustable stainless steel and polished brass parts and screws. Round glass disc and mirror. Black plastic globe lampshade. Porcelain socket.

Height: 35 cm / 13.77”

Width: 10,5 cm / 4.13”

Electricity: 1 halogen dichroic bulb, 1 x 35 watt maximum, 12 volt. Any type of halogen dichroic light bulb can be used, not a specific one preferred.

Period: 1990s.

Designer: Ygnacio Baranga.

Manufacturer: Kumade Ltd, 70 Mody Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Other versions: This Ygnacio Baranga Osqar table lamp exists in two models. Made with silver finish or golden finish. Metal or plastic lampshade.

Ygnacio Baranga

José Ignacio Alvarez Baranga or Jialba was born in Sobradelo, Galicia, Spain, 29 June 1961. He lives and works in Brussels, Belgium. He is a self-taught designer in perpetual learning.

In his own words

Every day is a miracle that reveals me. My sponsors are meetings, teachers, friends and I thank them. They give birth to their desires through the wise listening that I give them in pictures. I do believe that we are bound by everything and by all and I never stop expressing it.

My journey is a game of expressions, a kind of alienation where the adversary is none other than myself. My being is freed by the ineluctable need to believe as I breathe.

Digital works are an important part of my work. I photograph painted works in progress that I merge with other photographs. The result is new compositions from the unconscious made of multiple layers superimposed and crossed by the same light.

In these realizations we travel between materials and spirituality, where there is an alchemy of dreams that encourage us to reconnect with our soul.

Osqar, The Living Lighting

The first designs of the Osqar table lamp were made in 1987. For the prototype a lampshade of the Minispot from the German company Osram was used. you can find it over here.

The finalization of technical drawings was in 1989 in collaboration with industrial designer Jean Paul E.

The presale of a numbered and signed series on the soles of Osqar‘s feet happened in 1990.

The first version was produced in Thailand. It has a chrome steel head which looks nice but was too hot to handle by hand. The production was not at the top.

In 1991 a production partner was sought in the US. A proposal was made to be present in the store of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. But unfortunately, Osqar does not have US approvals and the manufacturer does not want to invest in the modifications. It was the end of version 1.

In 1991, the Tradix company from Brussels, Belgium agreed to be the first distributor for Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourgh, France, Germany and Spain.

On year later, in 1992 version 2 with a plastic head, which is more resistant to heat, became in production in Hong Kong by the Kumade Ltd company. 50.000 lamps were made.

In 1993 there was a conflict with the new producer over distribution rights. Japan and the US are deprived of Osqar.
A few years later the creator abandons the project.

Today

Following many requests, Ygnacio Baranga is investigating the possibility of a version 3. With new LED technologies and controls via applications. Ygnacio Baranga is in search of partners to finalize the file and start production.

Osqar, a robot when not lit, a living lighting when lit.

Copies

Also in the 1990s a big version was made by a German company, but it lost his charm by making it to big. Since around 2015 a copy with a round conical base and without a dimmer is in production in China by Sun Luen. The company has nothing to do with the designer or the original lamp. You can find this copy over here.

Tradix

The Tradix company was founded in 1961. The company specializes in the representation, as agent or importer, of furniture and lighting for the home and public spaces.