Gaetano Pesce's extraordinary part design experiment, part uber-toy

I think we can all agree that tables, over the decades, have served humankind’s needs pretty well. From eating to meeting, scheming to preening and working to flirting they’ve been one of our most enduring furniture-friends. But you know what the blighters have hardly ever done? Hosted waterscapes, that’s what, so enter iconic Italian designer Gaetano Pesce.

A new show opening today plays host to Gaetano’s Six Tables on Water, which recreate watery expanses from the ocean to a puddle, with a pond, lagoon, river and lake in between. They’re extraordinary pieces – part ultimate children’s toy, part design experiment (they’re made from rigid polyurethane foam, PVC and epoxy resin), part celebration of water and part exploration of the way we think about and react to the world’s resources.

Gaetano enjoys the element of unpredictability in his processes although some of his new works include removable riverbanks, cliffs and trees to give the curators a little more control. What’s certain is these curious works definitely deserve a second look.

Six Tables on Water runs at the David Gill gallery until December 22.