A rippled table and a crackled mirror feature in this new series of work by Brooklyn designer Fernando Mastrangelo.
Mastrangelo has used a mix of cement, silica, hand-dyed sand, mirrors and coloured glass to create the Ridge Collection, which includes tables, stools and various wall hangings. Each is detailed with patterns and shapes intended to resemble mountain cliffs or snow peaks melting, as a subtle homage to the effects of global warming.
The designer chose to focus on these elements to draw attention to the effects of climate change on natural landscapes following on from his rug collection, which was similarly informed by glaciers breaking away into bodies of water and water evaporating from salt flats.
"My work has become an announcement, a pay-attention-to-me kind of announcement of what we will lose," Mastrangelo told Dezeen."As an artist with a voice, I feel I need to make work that speaks about the time we live in and Ridge is just another expression of that reverence."
Among the collection is the Ridge Mirror, which is made from 1,452 different pieces of smoked, bronze, black, antique, and clear mirrored glass.
The top of the piece comprises one large slab of a mirror, which then gradually breaks down into the different chunks and compositions of the reflective material.
"The Ridge Collection for me is epitomised by the abstract mirror made of over 1,400 pieces of mirror, it places the mountain range in a distorted and hard to comprehend format which hopefully engages people to ask questions," said Mastrangelo.
Mastrangelo also took cues from historical Japanese watercolour landscapes to create the abstracted mountainous scenes in the mirror, as well as the rest of the pieces in the collection.
Jagged lines detailing the sides of the Ridge Coffee Table resemble a mountain against a sky. The designer created this effect by casting coloured cement over an aggregate of silica granules.
The collection also features a version of the table with a base of copper pellets. Mastrangelo applied compressed air to the cement surface to create a ridge-like texture across the table top.
The Ridge Drum, which acts like a stool, features a black silica base covered with white cement that mimics the look of a snow-capped mountain.
Hand-dyed sand layered in a black, grey, and white gradient pattern appear like mountains fading in the distance to form the accompanying Sand Drum.
Also in the collection are U-shaped wall hangings made from sand layers, also reflective of mountain scenery.
Mastrangelo originally studied painting and video in Seattle and went on to earn a masters in sculpture at Virginia Commonwealth University. He runs his studio in Brooklyn with a focus on sculpture, painting, furniture, architecture and interiors.
His other designs include butter-soft cement tables, furniture that looks like "three-dimensional landscape paintings" and a collaboration with designer Anna Karlin.
Photography by Cary Whittier.