Industrial designer Marc Newson worked with Japanese swordsmiths, Czech glass makers and an American surfer to create the pieces currently on show at the Gagosian's Chelsea gallery.
Newson designed the furniture, swords and surfboards in the exhibit at the Gagosian outpost on New York's West 21st Street to celebrate a variety of finishes and traditional crafts.

"They're all materials, processes and techniques that I've been obsessed with since I trained as a jeweller and a silversmith, not as a designer," Newson told Dezeen at the exhibition's opening on 17 January 2019.
Among highlights from the selection are a series of desks, chairs, and chaise longues that feature spotted patterns, floral designs and pebbly effects. Newson created these decorative finishes using an ancient technique known as Cloisonné, which involves metallic framework filled in with enamel.
The designer spent years tracking down the technically adept craftspeople in Beijing, where Cloisonné production once flourished, to help him create the pieces.
Another challenge was finding suitable equipment for Newson's creations. Cloisonné is typically used for much smaller objects, like homeware, and the final stage involves firing the enamel powder in a kiln. The designer therefore needed to build a particularly large oven for his pieces.

"The oven is big enough to put a car in, but that didn't exist, there's no market for that stuff, even in China," Newson said.
"I just love t...