Technology and art fuse seamlessly to produce Avalon’s striking design. Mighty slabs of iron are contoured by means of segmented plane geometry, with concave and convex curvilinear forms and a sequence of boldly dovetailed gestures that define the table’s base. This is a premier example of a minimalist structure reinforced by the power of its materials—the authenticity of the body’s natural iron and the primeval expressivity of the annealed glass top. Avalon’s austere formalism is contrasted with the dynamism of the base, while the glass disc surface, evoking a mirrored, softly rippling pool, transports us to an extraterrestrial dreamscape.
Roxy Music’s last and greatest album, Avalon, is a touchstone of the 1980s. Even as its namesake table expresses a signature ’80s brand of boldness, it speaks as well to more ancient folklore and myth—the legendary island of Avalon, where King Arthur’s fabled sword, Excalibur, was forged—in particular through the tabletop’s Pacific blue finish. Below Avalon’s otherworldly disc of annealed glass, the powerful metal base winds like a welling tide with elegance and élan.
