Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Artistic, innovative and entrepreneurial, the self-taught creator Tom Dixon has been a contemporary design-world maverick for more than three decades. From his revolutionary art-meets-design projects of the 1980s and throughout his dynamic and influential career as a designer of furniture, housewares and interiors, the only consistent note has been change. Dixon’s chief fascination is exploring new materials and new ways of constructing things.
Dixon was restless even as a young man. He enjoyed ceramics and drawing in high school but later dropped out of the Chelsea School of Art in London. While repairing his motorcycle in 1983, Dixon learned how to weld and took to the craft. He began making what he has called semi-functional objects from scrap metal (sometime as performance art in a nightclub), then formed a furniture studio–cum–think tank called Creative Salvage. Amid the ritzy excess of the ’80s, Dixon — along with designers such as Tejo Remy and Ron Arad — forged a new, attention-getting aesthetic with furniture made from found materials.
In 1987, Dixon began working for the Italian furniture manufacturer Cappellini, which put his best-known design, the slender, sinuous S chair, into production, followed by such pieces as the Pylon chair (1992), a wire lattice that resembles electrical transmission towers. Starting in the 1990s, Dixon expanded his interests rapidly. He started a company to manufacture the stackable plastic Jack light; joined the housewares retailer Habitat as creative director; and breathed new life into Artek, the venerable Finnish maker that Alvar Aalto and his wife Aino helped cofound. Since 2002, Dixon has run his namesake company fabricating furnishings from novel materials like brass foil-clad wood and “vacuum-metalized” glass.
The hallmark of Dixon’s design is his captivation with the process of creating pieces such as chairs, tables and lighting fixtures. “A kind friend once described me as a ‘vertebrate designer,’” Dixon has said. “That means that I design from the bones outwards and am not really interested in surface.”
Classic Dixon pieces are those that exhibit the manner of their making — from his early work in welded scrap metal to the woven rattan seats and backs of his Fat chair for Cappellini. There are two ways to approach Dixon designs: as a collector, or as a decorator. The former will seek Dixon’s one-off and limited edition works and prototypes. These historical artifacts carry high prices that range from around $8,000 to $50,000 and above. Those more interested in a dynamic look will find that manufactured Dixon designs — such as his Jack lights or his Melt pendant — can be found for prices that range from about $300 to $1,000. Either way, as you will see on 1stDibs, the designs of Tom Dixon have a singular allure that makes them a noteworthy element in any room.
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Other
2010s French Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Aluminum
1970s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Glass, PVC
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Aluminum, Brass
2010s Australian Modern Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Bronze
1980s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass
2010s Chinese Mid-Century Modern Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Aluminum
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Bronze
1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Organic Modern Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass, Iron
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Tom Dixon Wall Lights and Sconces
Acrylic
Tom Dixon wall lights and sconces for sale on 1stDibs.
Creators Similar to Tom Dixon
- 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022Tom Dixon originally created the S chair in the mid-1980s. The chair is characterized by its welded steel frame and woven rush upholstery. Shop a collection of Tom Dixon’s designs from some of the world’s top sellers on 1stDibs.