Is it art? Is it furniture? Is there a distinction? These are questions designer Brian Thoreen answers in his provocative work, which ranges from curved glass tables, weighed down by cast bronze blocks, to blown glass “melted” over angular handcrafted metalwork. Sometimes his designs are obviously quite functional and categorical, other times artistic merit outweighs function. Either way, his works highlight and draw on the power inherent in his chosen materials, and Thoreen thrives in the spaces in between.
Thoreen had explored a range of disciplines and mediums before committing to furniture design. He filled his 20s with experimentation with painting, fabrication, building, welding, architecture and fashion — but he always came back to making furniture. Thoreen studied painting in community college, though much of his talent in design is a culmination of experience he amassed through jobs along the way. He worked as an art installer at Kayne Griffin Gallery, a carpenter at Southern California architecture firm Marmol Radziner and also founded his own gallery MASA and experimental glassmaking collective, VISSIO.
While Thoreen has found a renewed vigor since relocating to Mexico in 2017, the 1960s and '70s Los Angeles art scene informs much of his work. Thoreen learned firsthand from many artists of the era including James Turrell, Ed Ruscha, Larry Bell and Robert Irwin. These visual artists, who were associated with the period's Light and Space movement, explored light in relation to geometric abstraction and minimalism, which resurface as themes in Thoreen’s furniture.
Thoreen’s Cantilever tables and Reaching Console in his sculptural Unsettled collection, which was exhibited at Patrick Parrish’s gallery in New York City in 2017, feature a sublime marriage of marble, smoked glass and cast bronze, and the components are not held together by the typical hardware associated with these kinds of structures — none of the pieces use fasteners of any kind.
With his prioritization of minimalism and the honesty of the materials, Thoreen endeavored to ensure that his pieces wouldn’t need any fasteners secured by screws to stand on their own, relying instead on what he knew about mass and space (a set of bronze counterweights is doing the heavy lifting on the collection's Console). As such, like each of the designer’s works, they’re striking statement pieces in any space — “unsettled” or not.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of Brian Thoreen decorative objects, storage case pieces and lighting.
Price Upon Request
Brian Thoreen Modernist Brass Dining Table
By Brian Thoreen
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Amazing solid brass and steel dining table by LA-based designer Brian Thoreen. Custom sizes and finishes are available.
Brass, Steel
Scandinavian Modernist Dining Table by Carl Malmsten, 1940s
By Carl Malmsten, Axel Einar Hjorth
Located in Forest, BE
This is a large and unusual dining table made out of pine. Produced in Sweden around the 1940s. It is a so unique in the shape, the base is very unusual. It will brighten any project...
Pine
Trestle Base Dining Table in Quartersawn Walnut by Brian Holcombe
By Brian Holcombe
Located in Princeton, NJ
Dining table in quarter sawn walnut featuring a trestle base, carefully constructed utilizing interlocking joinery and without metal hardware or screws. The construction of this tabl...
Walnut
$3,283 / item
H 29.53 in Dm 55.12 in
"Pilar" Modernist Round Dining Table painted Steel and Natural Wood
By Alessandra Delgado
Located in Alto da Lapa, SP
The designer Alessandra Delgado has a background in architecture and as so likes to use the challenges sometimes faced on architectural projects in her work. The dining table Pilar w...
Steel
Important Modernist Sculptural Dining Table with Asymmetrical base
Located in Sleepy Hollow, NY
Exceptional Italian Modernist Sculptural Dining Table with Asymmetrical Aluminum and Carved Wood Base, circa 1970s An exceptional and highly sophisticated vintage modernist dining t...
Aluminum
Pace Style Glass & Brass Dining Table
By Pace Furniture Company
Located in Denton, TX
Pace style glass & brass dining table. Huge beveled glass top on a glass base held together by brass brackets.
Brass
$5,965
H 28.55 in W 51.97 in D 51.97 in
1970s Modernist Dining Table by Afra & Tobia Scarpa, Walnut & Glass
By Afra & Tobia Scarpa
Located in Vienna, AT
Modernist vintage dining table or center table from walnut and black glass designed by Afra & Tobia Scarpa 1970s Italy. A beautiful dining table with a blonde walnut frame and th...
Walnut, Glass
Mid-Century Brass Dining Table
By Milo Baughman
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Round dining table with polished brass base. Wood veneer top complimented by long slender brass legs. Please confirm location.
Brass
Modernist handcrafted dining table, Netherlands 1990s
By Frank Lloyd Wright
Located in ECHT, NL
Wooden dining table with an Eiffel style base and a hexagonal top. Handcrafted by the original owner who was a carpenter by trade. The table is made from 18mm MDF with an oak venee...
Oak, Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF)
$10,140 / item
H 30 in Dm 48 in
Circle Walnut Expanding Dining Table w/ Brass Capped Legs "Warren Dining Table"
By Anton Maka
Located in Shelby Twp, MI
The Warren dining table is an expanding circular dining table made of solid walnut boards. The simple and sleek tapered legs are capped...
Brass
Modernist Oak Dining Table
By Brendan Bass
Located in Dallas, TX
Modernist dining table in Richmond finish top and Onyx finish base. Designed by Brendan Bass for the Vision and Design Collection, by using high quality materials and textures. All...
Oak
$9,875 / item
H 30 in Dm 60 in
Brian Paquette x Lawson-Fenning Rainier Dining Table, Walnut, Modern Round Table
By Lawson-Fenning
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The Rainier Dining Table is part of the collaborative collection with interior designer Brian Paquette for Lawson-Fenning. The Rainier Dining Table features a solid wood top and four...
Walnut
$16,000Sale Price|20% Off
H 28.35 in W 48.04 in D 48.04 in
Gerald Summers Modernist Round Dining Table, 1930s
By Gerald Summers
Located in Antwerp, BE
Gerald Summers; Round dining table; Mid-Century Modern; Wood; table furniture; British design; Plywood; Mid-Century Modern round dining table designe...
Wood
Modernist Spalti 'Glass' Mosaic Tile Top Dining Table
By Erwine & Estelle Laverne
Located in Buffalo, NY
Modernist Spalti (glass) mosaic tile dining top table. Superior quality. Very well executed. Iron surround, decorative metal table base, large and heavy.
Metal, Iron
Zebra and Brass Dining Table
By Annibale Colombo
Located in Milan, IT
Bold volumes following elegant paths. The striking design marking this imposing dining table blends materials as zebra wood and brass components that lend the table its sober dose of...
Brass
Vintage Italian Brass Dining Table
Located in London, GB
A stunning vintage Italian brass dining table. This was made in Italy, it dates from around the 1950’s. The quality is superb, it is very large and impressive, it can easily seat ei...
Brass