French-Lebanese design studio David/Nicolas' furniture inspired by the night sky and Beirut's history is on display at Carpenters Workshop Gallery in Manhattan.
The limited-edition pieces in the Supernova exhibit were created by Beirut-based David Raffoul and Nicolas Moussallem, who founded David/Nicolas in 2011.
The range includes various coffee, dining and end tables called Constellation, as well as Monocle cabinets, a rug and wall panels. The pieces are made predominantly of either travertine or palm wood.
"Supernova is the death of a star and the rebirth of a new one, with the remaining parts of the exploded star, and this reminds us of Beirut, because Beirut was destroyed seven times and always reconstructed," Raffoul told Dezeen.
One coffee table design has a dark, palm-wood veneer and is supple to the touch. A cylindrical block was cut in half to form the base, and a rounded top slots into grooves. Brass inlay creates a geometric pattern across the surface.
"This graphic is like an explosion of stars with very simple shapes," Raffoul said.
Another coffee table is made of polished travertine bronzo stone with stainless steel indentations. The piece is made of three carved pieces of rock and designed to be used outside as well.
Cut cylindrical blocks also serve as legs for dining tables, which also feature brass panels wrapped around their bases.
One oval-shaped dining table has two legs and is made of white travertine navona, chosen for its hue and grain. "We tried to have the whitest travertine because there is this lunar aspect," said Raffoul.
Another longer dining table has three supports, holding up a trio of travertine bronzo slabs connected by silvered brass zig-zag joints.
This table has a reinforced honeycomb top plate. Stone cavities are plugged with acrylic resin for structural support.
The Supernova exhibit also includes reddish wood cabinets, made with Brazilian granadillo wood and rare Brazilian marble called Fusion Wow. A glass chest with bronze hinges sits on top.
"There is this timelessness, nostalgic feeling that we like to give to our designs, that someone can't tell if it's a futuristic piece or an old piece, especially on the cabinets," said Raffoul.
A shiny, taupe-coloured rug called Million Lines Away has a linear pattern formed by silk, wool and viscose. Thousands of tiny loops create shadows and gaps, lending a luminous quality overall.
"We are talking about a lost civilisation, and all of the pieces have a feeling or an aspiration of a lost civilisation," the designer said. "We are really into this graphic narrative, of lines used by the ancient Assyrian civilisation."
Rounding out the collection is a panelled wall system made of French oak, and two end tables made of either palm wood or travertine, with glass and bronze hardware.
Supernova is on display at Carpenters Workshop Gallery, 693 Fifth Avenue, New York City from 24 January to 13 April 2019.
Carpenters Workshop Gallery was first founded in London in 2006 by childhood friends, Julien Lombrail and Loic le Gaillard, in a former carpenter’s workshop.
The gallery opened a location in Paris in 2011, followed by New York in 2015, and most recently launched a San Francisco outpost in a refurbished church.
Photography is by Matt Harrington courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery.