Spanish designer Nacho Carbonell has unveiled a beautiful new series of combined table and chair forms at the Milan Salone, finished in a range of unusual materials including gravel, thorns, corn and broken glass.

The show is located in the vast 625 square metre Palazzo Ferre (a space normally used only for Gianfranco Ferre’s fashion presentations) and is the single largest exhibition of new work by Carbonell.

Called "Diversity", his installation is comprised of twenty iterations of the same form - a slender-legged chair attached to a narrow, covered desk - each with distinct finishes.

The result suggests a demographically diverse neighbourhood of furniture. One is coated in “hair filaments” that can be combed and groomed; another in shards of broken glass from used wine bottles; and another in a granular concrete coating.

Carbonell, born in Valencia but now based in Eindhoven, has established a reputation for creating distinct, innovative forms and highly experimental finishes ever since his graduation in 2007, and this newest artistic exploration of tactility seems to show that he has yet more concepts up his sleeve to develop.

“Experimentation leads to new opportunities, to an unlimited world of creation,” said Carbonell. “I want to eliminate boundaries and expand the field of design – this is my own view of creation.”

Want to find out more? Have a look at this video where Nacho talks about his processes...

Images Tatiana Uzlova