Marc Newson (photo Jan Buus)

Marc Newson, Voronoi Shelf and Extruded Chair, White Carrara Marble, 2006. Each of Marc Newson's marble pieces is made from a single slab of marble from the same Carrara quarry. (Lamay Photo/Courtesy of Gagosian)

Voronoi Shelf (detail), White Carrara Marble, 2006. "Marble is timeless," says Newson. It looks and feels beautiful, but it's kind of uncool. These pieces are very, very technically challenging. Normally marble pieces like these would be fabricated by joining different pieces, but we've milled them." (Lamay Photo/Courtesy of Gagosian)

Large lathed marble table. (Lamay Photo/Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery, New York)

Extruded Table 1, White Carrara Marble, 2006.  (Lamay Photo/Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery, New York)

Extruded Table 1, White Carrara Marble, 2006. (Lamay Photo/Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery, New York)

Micarta Chair. Usually used in electrical insulation or to make knife and gun handles, Micarta is a composite of linen or paper fabric in thermosetting plastic. It was invented in 1910 as a by-product of the development of Bakelite. Marc Newson has discovered the sculptural qualities of Micarta by forming it into furniture. (Lamay Photo/Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery, New York)

Micarta Chair detail. (Lamay Photo/Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery, New York)

Micarta Table, 2006. As Micarta is sensitive to light, the color of these pieces will change over time, becoming darker and denser. "Micarta is a beautiful material that you can carve into like a very, very dense wood," said Newson. "And by reacting to sunlight, it constantly changes, like a living thing." (Lamay Photo/Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery, New York)

Micarta Table (detail), 2006. (Lamay Photo/Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery, New York)

Random Pak Twin Sofa, 2006. The Random Pak process derives from software developed by Newson's studio to generate shapes built in nickel by a laser sintering process, typically used to create rapid prototypes for the automotive or aerospace industries. (Lamay Photo/Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery, New York)

Random Pak Chair (detail), 2006. "This process is obscenely labor-intensive," says Newson. "It takes months and months and months to build each piece, because they are so hard to make and there are so many failures. We've put an enormous amount of research into this, but it's justifiable because it filters down through the rest of my work as an industrial designer." (Lamay Photo/Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery, New York)

Nickel Chair, 2006. Marc Newson made his name in the 1990s as the designer of visually seductive, but technically rigorous objects in voluptuous shapes and luscious colors. The new work in the Gagosian exhibition is purer in form, and more austere in style. (Lamay Photo/Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery, New York)

Sintered Damask Knife, 2006. "The shapes are more rational, and a little more austere," says Newson. "That's to do with the nature of the material, which dictated the shapes. With the rest of my work, it's the other way around. And as an industrial designer, I design from a brief, and then choose an appropriate material." (Lamay Photo/Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery, New York)

Nickel Surfboard, 2006. Growing up in his native Australia, Newson was inspired by the D-I-Y cottage industry of surfies who made their own boards in garages and shacks. This Nickel Surfboard was designed to be used for tow-in surfing, when the board needs to be robust and stable. (Lamay Photo/Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery, New York)