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500 Series
500 Tables Inspiring Interpretations of Function and Style by Hemachandra, Ray, Glasgow, Andrew [Lark Crafts,2009]
500 Tables Inspiring Interpretations of Function and Style by Hemachandra, Ray, Glasgow, Andrew. Published by Lark Crafts,2009, Paperback
Unknown Binding
First published May 5, 2009
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June 18, 2025
In 500 Tables: Inspiring Interpretations of Function and Style, edited by Ray Hemachandra, the notion of the table—a ubiquitous, often-overlooked element of domestic and civic life—is elevated into a platform for the interrogation of function, form, and metaphor. This volume, part of Lark Books’ lauded "500 Series," is more than a visual catalogue of exquisite craftsmanship; it is a curated argument for the table as an expressive and semiotic object. It invites readers to engage not just with design, but with philosophy, narrative, and identity, as these manifest in wood, metal, glass, and mixed media.
The editorial hand of Hemachandra, known for his sensibility toward visual coherence and the democratic breadth of artistic inclusion, is clearly evident. The diversity of makers—emerging artisans alongside renowned figures—creates a dialectical interplay between tradition and innovation, discipline and defiance. Each piece, photographed with care, becomes a thesis statement on the possibilities of functional art.
From a scholarly perspective, the book serves as an index of the late 20th and early 21st-century craft renaissance, where the handmade intersects with the conceptual. There is a palpable tension throughout the collection between the utilitarian and the symbolic. In tables that refuse to be flat or symmetrical, or that challenge balance and weight distribution, we encounter the ghost of modernism—think Nakashima’s reverence for the slab, or Noguchi’s sculptural instinct—filtered through postmodern fragmentation and ecological consciousness.
In many entries, we see the influence of narrative furniture, where material choice and joinery are imbued with autobiographical or cultural reference. A table made from reclaimed barn wood, for instance, speaks not just of sustainability, but of memory and loss. Another, with a surface fragmented like tectonic plates, evokes the instability of the Anthropocene. These are not mere statements of aesthetic whimsy but critical engagements with the conditions of contemporary life.
The book’s structure—500 photographs, largely uninterrupted by text—encourages close looking. Yet therein lies a limitation: the absence of essays or artist commentary results in a kind of formalist silence that demands the viewer bring their own analytical framework. While this aligns with Hemachandra’s curatorial ethos of open interpretation, it also presents a missed opportunity for critical essays that might contextualize the collection within craft theory, phenomenology, or the politics of making.
Still, 500 Tables excels as a pedagogical tool for educators in design and fine arts programs. It can serve as a springboard for discussions on ergonomics, cultural symbolism, and the fluid boundary between art and craft. It implicitly asks: What makes a table a table? At what point does functionality dissolve into commentary? And how might the act of making resist commodification?
500 Tables is an indispensable volume for artists, collectors, and scholars interested in the poetics of furniture and the broader implications of object-hood. It proves that a table can be more than a surface—it can be a stage for artistic performance, a bearer of memory, and a quiet critique of the spaces we inhabit. A visually arresting and intellectually suggestive compilation that redefines the table as an object of art and inquiry. Though lacking in critical text, its breadth and aesthetic integrity render it a valuable contribution to contemporary craft discourse.
The editorial hand of Hemachandra, known for his sensibility toward visual coherence and the democratic breadth of artistic inclusion, is clearly evident. The diversity of makers—emerging artisans alongside renowned figures—creates a dialectical interplay between tradition and innovation, discipline and defiance. Each piece, photographed with care, becomes a thesis statement on the possibilities of functional art.
From a scholarly perspective, the book serves as an index of the late 20th and early 21st-century craft renaissance, where the handmade intersects with the conceptual. There is a palpable tension throughout the collection between the utilitarian and the symbolic. In tables that refuse to be flat or symmetrical, or that challenge balance and weight distribution, we encounter the ghost of modernism—think Nakashima’s reverence for the slab, or Noguchi’s sculptural instinct—filtered through postmodern fragmentation and ecological consciousness.
In many entries, we see the influence of narrative furniture, where material choice and joinery are imbued with autobiographical or cultural reference. A table made from reclaimed barn wood, for instance, speaks not just of sustainability, but of memory and loss. Another, with a surface fragmented like tectonic plates, evokes the instability of the Anthropocene. These are not mere statements of aesthetic whimsy but critical engagements with the conditions of contemporary life.
The book’s structure—500 photographs, largely uninterrupted by text—encourages close looking. Yet therein lies a limitation: the absence of essays or artist commentary results in a kind of formalist silence that demands the viewer bring their own analytical framework. While this aligns with Hemachandra’s curatorial ethos of open interpretation, it also presents a missed opportunity for critical essays that might contextualize the collection within craft theory, phenomenology, or the politics of making.
Still, 500 Tables excels as a pedagogical tool for educators in design and fine arts programs. It can serve as a springboard for discussions on ergonomics, cultural symbolism, and the fluid boundary between art and craft. It implicitly asks: What makes a table a table? At what point does functionality dissolve into commentary? And how might the act of making resist commodification?
500 Tables is an indispensable volume for artists, collectors, and scholars interested in the poetics of furniture and the broader implications of object-hood. It proves that a table can be more than a surface—it can be a stage for artistic performance, a bearer of memory, and a quiet critique of the spaces we inhabit. A visually arresting and intellectually suggestive compilation that redefines the table as an object of art and inquiry. Though lacking in critical text, its breadth and aesthetic integrity render it a valuable contribution to contemporary craft discourse.
Displaying 1 of 1 review