Table 02, Julian Ray

2025

Medium: Walnut, steel, and glass tile, 32"L x 16 1/2"W x 15 1/2"H

“This entirely hand built coffee table features solid walnut finished in danish oil, a steel frame sanded to a chrome-like appearance, and embedded glass tiles acting not only as coasters, but as extensions of the furniture’s geometry inspired by early 20th century architecture and its motif of modernizing stained glass. The table’s underside is home to the steel frame highlighting an interplay of negative and positive space both by adding a secondary shelf with a brushed finish, and by extending its arched geometry as it pierces through the walnut base, expanding the table's purpose into a realm of catering to our own yearning for wonder and curiosity.

Additionally, the "chromed" steel piercing through the walnut provokes a dialogue on how spatial subversion plays a role in design regarding material hierarchies; during the 1920s and 30s, architects collectively emphasised the inclusion of industrial techniques, abandoning ornamentation in favor of minimalism. Here we see wood sacrificing itself to the completion of a steel arc. Table 02 is designed to expand viewers' and users' perceptions on the qualities of functional art objects, harken to the geometric language of contemporary and bauhaus architecture, and conjure wonder towards a future mentality where materiality and form can exist alongside one another in the home through a state of mutual elevation rather than simple coexistence. The result is this table existing as a geometric playground for the eyes and mind while retaining its integrity as a unique statement of utility and comfort for the human being.”