London-based Fredrikson Stallard have created the Basalt Side Table. Much of Fredrikson Stallard’s work is about fragmentation and finding resolution through destruction.
There are many similarities between studying the beauty of the resulting forms when destroying an object, and the veneration of objects, or pieces of objects, of great antiquity that have been fragmented by time. It has therefore always seemed logical for Fredrikson Stallard, when creating furniture from objects whose identity lies in fragmentation, to complete a piece by reflecting the way museums hold up these fragments of great history – the museum stand.
Museum stands are bespoke objects designed to elevate a mere fragment to a level of cultural significance, to bring it under our greater scrutiny. Each element, object and stand, have a disparate visual language, yet they rely on each other to become meaningful.
In creating furniture, it is an essential prerequisite for Fredrikson Stallard that necessary elements, such as the legs of a dining table, are never simply something to be stuck on for the sake of functionality, but must exist as a completely integral part to the identity of the whole piece, setting equally high expectations for every element of the work.
