OBITUARY: Pasquale Quadri
PASQUALE QUADRI - THE CREATIVE SOUL OF CLAY PAKY - 1947 - 2014 Born in Seriate, Bergamo, a province of Lombardy, Italy, Pasquale ‘Paky’ Quadri was a highly successful entrepreneur and pioneer in the professional lighting industry - rarely seen, but highly respected by peers, lighting designers and competing manufacturers the world over. Lighting Designer Nick Whitehouse, commented: “Paky was one of the major founders of the lighting industry we know today. Throughout my career the products he created have always been at the forefront of technology and forever changed the landscape of the lighting industry, not just once but over and over again. “He inspired me and many other designers with his imagination and dedication to perfection, never failing to provide amazing new fixtures and features that have contributed heavily to many of my designs. Above all Paky was a gentleman both in the way he did business and during the times I have been lucky enough to meet with him.” Truly passionate about technology and the culture of innovation, the story of Paky is closely intertwined with the history of the 08
entertainment business, and is studded with great international success. He understood the great development that the technological evolution of lighting would have in the world of show business and entertainment, a world he already knew well as a youngster when, very musically inclined, he headed several groups, playing the organ, bass and drums. Making the most of his inclination for design in the field of optics and his passion for precision mechanics, Paky lay at the heart of most Clay Paky products. From the very first lighting effects, such as the Astrodisco - an icon of the disco era in the ‘70s and ‘80s, to legendary automated lights Golden Scan (which British new rave band Klaxons even wrote a song about) and Sharpy, and then more recently the B-Eye. Paky was there every step of the way, growing the company from its humble beginnings in 1976, up until very recently, overseeing the transfer of Clay Paky ownership to Osram, with the objective of securing further expansion for the company. SGM Lighting’s CEO Peter Johansen commented: “I always regarded Pasquale as one of the original inventors of modern