Japanese studio Nendo has designed a range of furniture that looks like it has been drawn onto surfaces at the Eye of Gyre gallery in Tokyo (+ slideshow).

The Border pieces were created for a solo exhibition of Nendo's work in Omotesando, Tokyo, and designed as an alternative to the "average specification" of furniture created for mass production.

Rather than designing tables that could fit into any room, the studio tailored the angles and shapes of each of the pieces specifically for the corners and columns of the gallery, with the "troublesome" elements of the room leading the studio's design process.

Small tabletops, measuring just 100 millimetres across, rest on metal stems that extend at right angles from horizontal rods. These elements have a white-painted gradient that gives the effect of blending into the wall.

Other designs closely trace the horizontal and perpendicular lines of the corners, podiums and walls of the gallery, resembling line sketches. Tables are arranged in grid-like groups in some parts of the gallery.

The studio – led by designer Oki Sato – also used optical illusions to present a range of tableware inside the Japanese pavilion at the Milan Expo, and again for a stool designed for Italian furniture brand Moroso that appeared to have missing supports.

"In the process we took turns in verifying how the furniture was balanced as it was placed within the space, as well as the proportion of the furniture itself," said Nendo.

"The design utilises the element of space as a part of its structure by 'parasitising' on to the corners or edges of the walls, the side of the floor and exhibition stands."

The exhibition opened on 6 October 2015 and continues until 28 October at the Eye of Gyre gallery in Omotesando, Tokyo. It is part of a trio of Nendo solo shows, each arranged around a different theme.

Earlier this year, an exhibition in Milan presented more than 100 products designed by the studio over the past year, including previously unseen pieces.

Photography is by Hiroshi Iwasaki and Masaya Yoshimura.