Staff Reports
Top designer and Columbus resident Jonathan Nesci will show a total of nine works — all produced in Columbus — with two different galleries Tuesday through Sunday at Design Miami, a global design forum.
The pieces were made with local sculptor Robert Pulley, Columbus’ Noblitt Fabricating Inc., and Turner’s Machining Specialties, also of Columbus. Six pieces are from Nesci’s local show with Pulley last year, two are from his show with Noblitt earlier this year, and one new piece was produced with Turner’s Machining Specialties.
Nesci is a high-end furniture designer with a growing national reputation. His pieces for sale on websites such as 1stdibs.com generally range from $1,500 stools to $48,000 floor shelves.
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He has labeled his newest work, titled Irwin Coffee Table, as “a celebration of honest materials in the hands of highly skilled craftsmen, simple, geometric shapes joined with mathematical precision, and local expertise used to fabricate a global concept.”
The design, including nine circular glass elements, was inspired by the nine roof domes of the all-glass Irwin Conference Center, designed as Irwin Union Bank in 1951 by Eero Saarinen.
Third-generation machinists at Turner’s milled the table’s top from one-inch aluminum plate with the aid of computer numerical control and the legs from solid, 1¼-inch aluminum bar stock. One-inch thick, polished acrylic inserts fit perfectly into the nine openings. The table is 33.33 inches square with the proportions of the top all set on the Golden Ratio. The natural finish is hand-polished and waxed.
Nesci mentioned that the finished product defines minimalism as it honors heritage.
“It’s the perfect combination of technology and craft,” Nesci said. “A design’s inspiration, engineering and fabrication all coming from local resources feels meaningful in a world of increasing globalization.”
