Nadège Mouyssinat Porcelain as light as air

Blending beauty with utility 

This is something that is done to perfection with this console table made up of a polished stainless steel tabletop on which rest 24 porcelain cones that seem to float in the air, reaching infinity. It required the production of custom moulds, some up to 1.2m in height; multiple rounds of sanding to give the texture the appearance of marble with a remarkably smooth, satiny surface; and, finally, a very complicated assembly with metal pieces placed inside the porcelain cones to hold it all together.

More sustainable production 

Pushing many technical limits, the piece is also a testament to some very contemporary research, aimed at making the porcelain production stages more sustainable and responsible. For example, Nadège Mouyssinat has designed a new generation of fully reusable alumina and porcelain firing supports. She also favours a firing temperature of 1,250° (instead of 1,400°), which enables her to reduce gas or electricity consumption by 25 to 30% while retaining the same level of sophistication through the use of new sanding techniques.

Lightness and technical power 

As technically accomplished as it is responsibly made, the result is an almost hypnotic piece, with its forest of cones reflected in the mirrored surface of the tabletop, giving the impression that they are floating in the air. Designed to evoke emotion, the visual disturbance offers the viewer a sense of almost spiritual lightness, with the curves of the cones tracing the curves of hyperbolas stretching into infinity. As well as having great aesthetic power, this table is intended as a manifesto, expressing the desire to democratise art through functionality. Like a Trojan horse, art weaves its way into this object without being glorified, making it a less intimidating piece, designed and intended for all. This approach is as characteristic of this piece as the benevolent spirit of its creator.