Synthesis X

Designer Tom Price's furniture, lighting, and sculptures are inspired by his curiosity about materials and the way chance events act upon them.

"Synthesis" is a series of illuminated sculptures whose crystalline appearance results from injecting tar into resin while it cures. As the resin cools and solidifies, cracks form and an exothermic (heat-releasing) reaction occurs, causing the tar to melt, expand, and force its way into them.

This creates dramatic internal formulations and colors ranging from pinks and purples to gold, green, blue, and black. Each "Synthesis" sculpture is unique, and Price has little idea what the resin will look like until it is released from the mold in which the chemical reaction takes place.

"Synthesis X" was assembled from blocks of resin that were cut in geometric shapes and polished. Price finds metaphorical meaning in the Synthesis creation process, calling it "the study of a dialogue between two contrasting materials… and their negotiation for space and identity when forced to become a single unified entity."