Three marble forms are stacked atop each other in a precarious, but precise balance. This gravity-defying sculpture is, in fact, a side table that also doubles as a stool, and is the first product to be unveiled from Rooshad Shroff’s latest collection of furniture, simply named “Balance”.
Shroff presents the hand-sculpted product in two versions, crafted with two different materials, marble and wood. The former features an egg-shaped ovoid sandwiched between a flat seat and a pebble-like base—all in marble—while the latter has a wooden seat and base, with a cast-brass ovoid centre. “[It echoes] the delicate equilibrium of certain works of art through the ages, such as the prehistoric Stonehenge, or the more recent Seven Magic Mountains installation by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone,” the architect-designer explains. The collection—the rest of which is yet to be released—is a deeper investigation into Shroff’s process, which is “always centred around the two primary aspects of craft and form-finding”. For this stool, as with previous works, he worked closely with artisans in Jaipur and Mumbai to hand-sculpt the forms, an intensive process that took months to fine-tune.
Though the idea had been with Shroff since last year, it took him a few months to test the prototypes, create a 3D-printed model to adjust the formation, and sculpt the final piece that lingers somewhere between stability and fragility, achieving a form that looks like it might topple with a gentle push. Testing the principles of physics—as is always the case in design—the stool goes beyond “random shape-making, with emphasis on maintaining the very act of balancing, and the centre of gravity”, says Shroff. The range will also include a console and a coffee table, as well as other pieces, hinged on this slippery, but exact balance that Shroff achieves.
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