'Hommage' table by Thierry Dreyfus

By Marie Le Fort

Split apart by a golden scar, Thierry Dreyfus' new 'Hommage' table fractures light to extraordinary effect.

Unveiled at Design Miami/ Basel by Carpenters Workshop Gallery, its industrial nature strikes the viewer first. 'It all started from a technical yet minimal, constructive element: the IPN beam,' the French light-artist explains. 'I chose a basic structural element, one that is usually hidden in the construction process, to structure the table and canalise the intensity that runs through it.'

On closer inspection, the table's giant crevasse - whose golden surface echoes the topography of the Himalayan chain - radiates so brightly that one looks for a light source. But there is none. 'Like a scar, the interstice never heals. The wound becomes precious, absorbs light, warms it up to concentrate and irradiate it,' Thierry Dreyfus adds.

Best known for illuminating the catwalks for everyone from Calvin Klein to Dior Homme, Dreyfus has always had a sculptural approach to lighting, which he has translated to furniture design with dazzling results.

24 June 2010 | Design