Brooklyn brand Slash Objects has launched a line of home accessories that combines materials such as brass, marble and rubber in crisp geometric forms.
Titled Coexist, the series includes everyday items such as side tables, mirrors, and a large coffee table. Every piece is an exploration of how starkly different materials can combine to form a singular composition.
"The Coexist collection came out of a fascination with the way parts interact with one another – how materials with very different natural properties can be formed and brought together into one coherent piece," said Slash Objects founder Arielle Assouline-Lichten.
The largest piece consists of a monumental marble slab held up by two brass cubes. "One of the cubes rests on its edge, playing with balance, perspective and geometry to achieve its effect," the designer said.
The Slash standing mirror is a full-length design framed in brass. It nests into a marble prism, and is tilted at a slight angle. The incline is calculated so that the marble is reflected, giving the illusion of being visible beyond the mirror.
Another piece, named Askew, is a side table formed of two cubes – one made of brass and the other green marble. The marble solid cantilevers off the top of the brass base, seemingly poised to tilt over.
"We finessed the marble and brass to bring the parts together as closely as we could," said the designer. "Working with two materials that have very different properties makes it important to understand the limitations of each, and how to best make one bolster the other."
Slash Objects is an offshoot of Assouline-Lichten's multidisciplinary design studio, Slash Projects. She explained that working in collaboration with local craftspeople allowed her greater design flexibility.
"Everything is made locally in Brooklyn, largely within a few mile radius. This actually makes it incredible convenient to be able to work between materials that otherwise would never be fabricated by the same artisan."
The designer chose the collection's title as a nod to the 2016 US election. "I've been thinking a lot about the notion of coexisting lately, due to our political climate and the need for disparateness to exist in some kind of union," she said.
"I think furniture and design in general does that – it brings parts together, and creates unity where there was none, establishing a sense of purpose."
Coexist was recently on display during NYCxDesign, New York's month-long celebration of architecture and design in May. Assouline-Lichten also presented a selection of her other products during the event, including a series of cylindrical stools made of concrete and brass, and a range of tabletop items such as coasters and place mats.
Also presented as part of this year's NYCxDesign was a series of home goods designed to help those suffering from memory loss and a set of experimental room dividers by Philippe Malouin.