Visible/Invisible is a series of furniture pieces that appear to hover between emergence and disappearance. Created by Brooklyn-based designer Takeshi Miyakawa, the furniture is made from solid mirror-clad acrylic panels that are expertly joined together without visible joints or connections. Depending on the angle of incident light, the furniture appears to recede into its surrounding context—while highlighted planes leave subtle traces of its physical presence.
Visible/Invisible includes both "pure" and "distorted" pieces: in the latter versions, Miyakawa heat-melted the acrylic, creating warped planes with cracked veins in the mirrored surface. These experiments allow the viewer to appreciate the physical limits of the materials in spite of their near-invisibility. Shown by the gallery Salon 94 during New York Design Week, Visible/Invisible augments Miyakawa's collection of provocative pieces—including the Infinity Chair, Holey Chair, and Axonometric Table.
Blaine Brownell, AIA, is a regularly featured columnist whose stories appear on this website each week. His views and conclusions are not necessarily those of ARCHITECT magazine nor of the American Institute of Architects.
