PATRICK RAMPELOTTO (born Sterzing-Vipiteno, 1978, lives and works in Vienna)
After receiving his diploma in 2006 at the University of applied arts Vienna with Prof. Borek Sipek and Ross Lovegrove, Rampelotto worked at the EOOS design studio and since 2009 works as an independent designer. Exhibited in several private and public collections, as well as in numerous homes, the artist's versatile work (ranging from industrial production to unique artifacts) has shown to be boldly blurring the boundaries between art and design. In 2015 he co-founded the design group "Die Ganz Neue Gruppe" altogether with Chmara Rosinke and Breaded Escalope. The opening of their Gallery Space "Spazio Pulpo" (Sonnenfelsgasse, 1st district, Vienna) took place in 2016. He is represented by the Galerie Rauminhalt Vienna as well as the Krehky Gallery Prague.
The trophy lamps of Patrick Rampelotto are at the core of his cultural piracy practice. Every lamp consists of a unique cluster of metal and plastic pieces, either purchased in flea markets or from private collections. As the trophies are dismantled and then reassembled, they become ever more abstracted from their original purpose. They are taken to another level as they become unrecognizable. The trophy lamps, just like trophies themselves, symbolize an outstanding achievement. But they bear a new signature: the inimitable formal language invented by Rampelotto. Each lamp evokes a flamboyant explosion, as well as a creature of rough majesty. In their witty elegance, they show striking sculptural and symbolical qualities. All in all, his trophy lamps stand for the pure exuberance of form and will.
