One of German artist Matthias Heiderich's photographs of Berlin.

Reflexiones 30 by Matthias Heiderich, from $112

Snow Blind by Matthias Heiderich.

Spektrum Berlin by Matthias Heiderich, $36 from editionsintervalles.com It's no secret that we're fans of the architectural photogrpahy by Matthias Heiderich. Now you can admire it in a 96-page book, published by Editions Intervalles, filled with surreal images of Berlin. Through Heiderich's lens, seemingly mundane cityscapes and skyscrapers become delightful compositions of color and texture. Each frame is akin to an abstract painting.

An homage to the king of bentwood, Thonet, No. 18, by Matthias Pliessnig obscures the iconic café chair in a frenzy of bent ash. Thonet cafe chair, steam bent white oak. 2007. Courtesy of Museum of Arts and Design; promised gift of Mimi S. Livingston; Photo by Matthias Pliessnig.

Copyright by Matthias Heiderich

A look at his studio in Rhode Island.

Reflexionen 08 by Matthias Heiderich, from $112

Reflexionen 16 by Matthias Heiderich, from $112

Newer designs include a Brancusi-inspired wall vase (left), in which eight conical, cup-like segments have been joined. Kaiser's Stack Vase resembles an upright clay caterpillar in what he describes as a "deliberate kiln accident": The cavity is made from 13 bottomless bowls, which were made and glazed seperately but then fired in a stack and therefore fused together.

Two examples of Kaiser's irreverent Wayward vase silhouette. In the version at left, the cylinder plus sphere combo has a textured surface made by treating dark clay with slip, iron ore, sanding, and repeated firings. The version at right has a platinum overglaze over a matte metallic glaze.

Reflexionen 05 by Matthias Heiderich, from $112

Systems / Layers 22 by Matthias Heiderich, from $112

Systems / Layers 19 by Matthias Heiderich, from $112

Woodworker Matthias Pliessnig first uncovered the steam-bending technique when tasked with designing a boat. Pictured is his Sinuo 5m bench.

A look at a bench from the inside.

All of the pieces, such as the Rivulet bench, are made with oak.

Kaiser's red cups are a study in contrasts between fluid bodies and textured bases, glossy and matte surfaces. The porcelain vessels were dipped in red slip and fired, changing in color to mottled pink. The interiors are glazed with glossy blue. His Kangen oribe cups employ the same oribe copper glaze, but each one reacts differently with colored engobes to produce very different shades, "especially when fired in strong reduction."

Austrian ceramist Matthias Kaiser experiments with a stunning range of experimental glazes for his pottery, while his sculptural influences range from traditional Japanese pottery to music: "I constantly think about shapes and surfaces, so any glimpse, thought or sound has the potential to germinate into an idea."

Once a piece of wood has been steamed, Pliessnig has under a minute to bend it to the desired shape before it hardens.

A Thonet chair wrapped in strips of wood makes for a sculptural piece.

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For his celadon-glazed Wayward vase series, Kaiser created and then joined two volumes, then carving deep grooves into the thicker bottom half. "With its eccentric chimney-like neck, the vessel conjures up the image of industrial architecture," Kaiser says. The tall vase comes with a shorter companion.

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Piegato One shelves by Matthias Ries for MRDO products

Piegato One shelf by Matthias Ries for MRDO products

Teshia Treuhaft is a Michigan-born MFA candidate in the Department of Future Design at the Rhode Island School of Design. She created the Curve Chair in 2009 using a single mold and two pieces of Luan bending plywood with a beech veneer. Photo by Matthias Heiderich, courtesy of Teshia Treuhaft.