Design In Hale Rouge Belge Copper, Ben Storms

Defying gravity. Ben Storms is a Belgian designer and craftsman whose bold experimentation with materials results in work that is innovative, captivating – and unexpected. In the case of his In Hale table series, Storms juxtaposes materials in a way that draws out new and often illusory qualities. For example, in the Rouge Belge Copper coffee table – a feat of industrial grandeur – the weighty layer of marble is effortlessly held up by a sheet of inflated metal. ‘By creating shapes that verge on the impossible,’ he says, ‘I confuse the viewers, make them lose their balance briefly, and stimulate them to look at familiar materials with a fresh eye.’ See how many tomes you can balance on it.