Dezeen Magazine

Janne Kyttanen extends Metsidian furniture collection created by explosion welding

New York 2016: Finnish designer Janne Kyttanen has continued to develop his explosion welding technique, melding volcanic stone and 3D-printed copper into two furniture pieces (+ slideshow).

The new side table and shelf join his prow-shaped Metsidian table, unveiled at last year's Design Miami fair.

Janne Kyttanen extends collection with explosion welded furniture at New York Design Week

Explosion welding uses chemical explosives to bond materials that can't be joined through conventional welding.

"[These] are dynamic works that represent a moment in time — an eruption that melds two divergent materials together," said Kyttanen.

In Kyttanen's collection, volcanic obsidian is melded together with a 3D-printed copper grid to form the furniture pieces.

Janne Kyttanen extends collection with explosion welded furniture at New York Design Week

"The result is a compelling metamorphosis; the impossible becomes reality," he said. "Metsidian designs traverse the boundary between sculpture and furniture, a harmonious union of otherworldly form and everyday function."

Kyttanen is a digital sculptor who has been at the forefront of 3D printing technology together with the studio he founded, Freedom of Creation.

Furniture_Janne-Kyttanen_Design-Miami-2015_dezeen_rhs

In 2015 he produced a 3D-printed sofa made of a minimal mesh, informed by spiderwebs and silkworm cocoons.

He also created a range of shoes that can be 3D printed overnight from a digital file at home and worn out the next day.

Janne Kyttanen extends collection with explosion welded furniture at New York Design Week
Kyttanen's Rollercoaster tables are also on show at the Collective Design Fair in New York

Alongside the new Metsidian pieces, Los Angeles-based Gallery ALL is presenting a curated collection of Kyttanen's other works as part of the Collective Design Fair in New York.

These include the infinite spiral of the Rollercoaster tables, exhibited in a sandblasted champagne finish, and the Sedona dining table in polished aluminium.

Janne Kyttanen extends collection with explosion welded furniture at New York Design Week
Kyttanen's Sedona dining table is displayed in polished aluminium at the fair

Also on display at Collective Design, taking place from 4 to 8 May 2016, is a soapstone cabinet and all-leather chair by Fort Standard and a range of furniture that traces the motion of moving elements by Nendo.

The event falls within the broader NYCxDesign festival, 3 to 17 May 2016, where Lambert & Fils is debuting a collection of pendant lighting.