Ammann Gallery

showcased Chained Up Miami by Italian-based Studio Barberini Gunnell. This marvelous table, which combines highly polished stainless steel and marble, is exclusively produced for the gallery in a limited edition of 6 + 2 AP.

Chained Up Miami was front and center at the Ammann Gallery booth, impossible to miss. This awesome dining table "seems to revolt against the immobility of the four legs, freeing themselves in a movement of rings forming a chain," explains Studio Barberini Gunnell.

The sheer beauty of the materials-the crisp white marble and shiny looping steel-is enough to command attention. But it's their composition that elevates Chained Up Miami. The marble, a material associated with monolithic weight, achieves an unexpected lightness atop the table's sculptural base. It appears to balance on the stainless steel rings, as weightless as paper.

The impossibly shiny stainless steel, shaped into interlocking links, looks less like a chain than the piece's title implies. Instead, the silver pieces resemble fine jewellery, although the large scale challenges its ornamental quality. Chained Up Miami proves that furniture is art-when and if material, concept, and execution are considered deeply, which is exactly what Studio Barberini Gunnell has done.

The studio was founded in 2009 by Francesco Barberini, who has degrees in architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design; and Nina Alexandra Gunnell, who holds degrees in interior design, communications, and advertising/marketing. The Italian-Spanish team seeks to produce one-off and limited-edition designs that tell a story. For their many and various degrees, as well as their narrative drive, Studio Barberini Gunnell is a duo after my own heart.

Visit www.ammann-gallery.com for more information.