The two STEN layered glass coffee tables explore the idea of abstracted natural form created with industrial technology. The tables use glass lamination to create layers of shaped, low-iron Starphire glass, which are then cut with an industrial water jet. Similarly, the steel bases are also water jet-cut, and present a contrasting pattern that is seen through the glass top. The glass is layered with varying thickness of clear and satin-etch pieces, achieving an overall edge thickness from 3/4” to 1-1/4”. The forms are inspired by the shape of large rocks and boulders, but the translation into glass creates something new: “glass rock,” without mass or density. The glass reflects light and becomes non-material. When light strikes the surface of glass, it is almost as if glass becomes light itself.
STEN-1: 78” x 24” x 17” high STEN-2: 50” x 42” x 17” high
Materials: low-iron Starphire glass, water jet-cut steel
Nils Finne explains the design evolution of the tables:
I am walking along the beach and come upon a large stone boulder, half-surrounded by water. The density and mass of the stone is suddenly transformed as the stone changes to glass and light shines through the entire boulder. Perhaps the glass boulder should be the table. But the forces of geology intervene and the glass is flattened into a few discrete layers, the glass boulder becomes several lyrically shaped planes of glass, still with the memory of the dense stone.
