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Brian Thoreen Furniture

American

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.

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Creator: Brian Thoreen
Tacchini Vertical Nest Light by Brian Thoreen
By Brian Thoreen
Located in New York, NY
Soft folds become luminous sculptures that seem to grow naturally. The light diffuses calmly, and blurs perceptions and contours creating an atmosphere of peace and seductive mystery...
Category

2010s Italian Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Plastic

2 Bars 1 Glass Big Decorative Center Piece Vessel
By Emiliano Godoy, Héctor Esrawe, Brian Thoreen
Located in Mexico City, MX
Vissio is delighted to announce the launch of 2B1G, a new series of limited-edition works produced in collaboration by: Héctor Esrawe, Emiliano Godoy, and Brian Thoreen. 2B1G (2 ...
Category

2010s Mexican Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Steel

Black Tomatoe Decorative Center Piece Vessel
By Emiliano Godoy, Héctor Esrawe, Brian Thoreen
Located in Mexico City, MX
Announcing Tomato, a limited-edition design work by: Héctor Esrawe, Emiliano Godoy, and Brian Thoreen for Vissio. Each Tomato is individually blown by a team of Nouvel Studio artisans so that no two are ever exactly alike. The four-person team required to make the Tomatoes begins by blowing a large bubble with molten glass...
Category

2010s Mexican Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Glass

Burnout 4 Hand Blown Glass Decorative Vase
By Emiliano Godoy, Héctor Esrawe, Brian Thoreen
Located in Mexico City, MX
Burnout sculptural vessels by Héctor Esrawe, Emiliano Godoy, and Brian Thoreen, are a formal study of entropy as expressed through sequential degradation of a wood mold by the glass ...
Category

2010s Mexican Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Glass

2 Bars 1 Glass Medium Decorative Center Piece Vessel
By Emiliano Godoy, Brian Thoreen, Héctor Esrawe
Located in Mexico City, MX
Vissio is delighted to announce the launch of 2B1G, a new series of limited-edition works produced in collaboration by: Héctor Esrawe, Emiliano Godoy, and Brian Thoreen. 2B1G (2 ...
Category

2010s Mexican Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Steel

Burnout 4
By Emiliano Godoy, Brian Thoreen, Héctor Esrawe
Located in Mexico City, MX
Burnout sculptural vessels by Héctor Esrawe, Emiliano Godoy, and Brian Thoreen, are a formal study of entropy as expressed through sequential degradation of a wood mold by the glass ...
Category

2010s Mexican Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Glass

2 Bars 1 Glass Small Decorative Center Piece Vessel
By Emiliano Godoy, Héctor Esrawe, Brian Thoreen
Located in Mexico City, MX
Vissio is delighted to announce the launch of 2B1G, a new series of limited-edition works produced in collaboration by: Héctor Esrawe, Emiliano Godoy, and Brian Thoreen. 2B1G (2 ...
Category

2010s Mexican Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Steel

Glass and Bronze Standing Mirror by Brian Thoreen
By Brian Thoreen
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Standing mirror made of mirrored bronze glass and cast bronze by Los Angeles based designer Brian Thoreen. Edition of 8 + II AP. Custom available.
Category

2010s American Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Bronze

Brian Thoreen Block Table
By Brian Thoreen
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Side table by Los Angeles based designer Brian Thoreen. Made of curved grey glass and weighted upright by a cast bronze block. Also available in bronze glass. Edition of 8 + II AP.
Category

2010s American Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Bronze

Brian Thoreen Vessel 2
By Brian Thoreen
Located in Brooklyn, NY
One of three vessels developed as the material maquette's for Brian Thoreen's larger works. Comprised of a cast bronze bowl, grey marble and grey glass. Also available in brown or re...
Category

2010s American Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Brian Thoreen Vessel 3
By Brian Thoreen
Located in Brooklyn, NY
One of three vessels developed as the material maquette's for Brian Thoreen's larger works. Comprised of a cast bronze vessel, red marble and grey g...
Category

2010s American Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Brian Thoreen Vessel 1
By Brian Thoreen
Located in Brooklyn, NY
One of three vessels developed as the material maquette's for Brian Thoreen's larger works. Comprised of a cast bronze bowl, red marble top and bronze glass base. The height of a sma...
Category

2010s American Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Brian Thoreen Cantilever Tables
By Brian Thoreen
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Cantilever tables by Los Angeles based designer Brian Thoreen. Made of marble, bronze glass, cast bronze. Custom material combinations available - inc...
Category

2010s American Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Shift Coffee Table by Brian Thoreen
By Brian Thoreen
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Shift coffee table by Los Angeles based designer Brian Thoreen. Made of brown marble and bronze glass. Custom material combinations available, including grey glass and red and grey m...
Category

2010s American Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Marble

"Reaching Console" by Brian Thoreen
By Brian Thoreen
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Smoked glass and brass console table comprised of two separate tables reaching towards each other by Los Angeles designer Brian Thoreen. Cantilevered by a brass column, the glass ele...
Category

2010s American Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Brass

Brian Thoreen Green Mixed Marble and Brass Coffee Table
By Brian Thoreen
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Geometric coffee table in mixed marble, brass, steel and wood by LA-based designer Brian Thoreen. This version, in green marble, was designed exclusively for Design Miami 2015. Other...
Category

2010s American Modern Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Marble, Brass, Steel

Brian Thoreen Brass and Blown Glass Torpedo Chandelier
By Brian Thoreen
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Brass and blown-glass chandelier by LA-based designer Brian Thoreen. Custom sizes and configurations are available.
Category

2010s American Modern Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Brass

Brian Thoreen Black Rubber Credenza / Sideboard
By Brian Thoreen
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Beautiful black rubber and brass credenza with an aniline dyed wood interior by Brian Thoreen. Made to order in Los Angeles with a lead time of 10-12 weeks. Please inquire for custo...
Category

2010s American Modern Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Brass

Brian Thoreen Bronze Growth Side Table
By Brian Thoreen
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Cast bronze and brass table by LA-based designer Brian Thoreen. Custom sizes and finishes are available.
Category

2010s American Modern Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Brass, Bronze

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.
Category

2010s American Modern Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Brass, Steel

Large Brian Thoreen Rubber and Brass Credenza or Sideboard
By Brian Thoreen
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Beautiful rubber and brass credenza with an aniline dyed wood interior by Brian Thoreen. Made to order in Los Angeles with a lead time of 10-12 weeks. Please inquire for custom sizi...
Category

2010s American Modern Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Brass

Brian Thoreen Black Mixed Marble and Brass Coffee Table
By Brian Thoreen
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Geometric coffee table in mixed marble, brass, steel and wood by LA-based designer Brian Thoreen. This black version is an open edition. The green version is an edition of 8 + 2 AP t...
Category

2010s American Modern Brian Thoreen Furniture

Materials

Marble, Brass, Steel

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Brian Thoreen furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Brian Thoreen furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of metal and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Brian Thoreen furniture, although black editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original furniture by Brian Thoreen were created in the modern style in north america during the 21st century and contemporary. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Ana Volante, Lance Thompson, and Joseph Cauvel of CAUV Design. Prices for Brian Thoreen furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $1 and can go as high as $28,500, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $4,625.

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