用加拿大魔术师Doug Henning的话说，“魔术师的艺术就是创造奇迹”，因为奇迹让我们充满喜悦。创造惊奇感绝不是魔术师独有的特权——许多艺术家和设计师正是以此为目标，而Ben Storms就是其中之一。这位来自比利时安特卫普的设计师喜欢突破材料的界限，创造令人费解但功能强大的设计作品。大理石和钢铁一定要看起来又重又硬吗？根据Ben Storms和他的一系列作品显示，答案是否定的：大理石可以看起来像枕头一样轻，钢铁可以看起来像织物一样柔软。他解释说，“通过创造近乎不可能的形状，我迷惑了观众，刺激他们用新的眼光去看熟悉的材料。”将古老的传统技术与尖端的制造技术相结合，设计师的创作过程就像他看似不可能的作品一样矛盾。

In the words of Canadian illusionist Doug Henning, “the art of a magician is to create wonder” for a sense of wonder fills us with joy. Evoking a sense of wonder is by no means solely the prerogative of magicians - many artists and designers aim at exactly that and Ben Storms is one of them. The Antwerp-based Belgian designer loves pushing the boundaries of materials to create mind-bending yet functional design pieces that question common notions. Does marble and steel always have to look heavy and hard? According to Storms and his series of sculptural tables and mirrors the answer is a resounding no: marble can appear as light as a pillow and steel as soft as a fabric. “By creating shapes that verge on the impossible”, he explains, “I confuse the viewers, make them lose their balance briefly, and stimulate them to look at familiar materials with a fresh eye.” Combining age-old traditional techniques with cutting-edge manufacturing technologies, the designer’s creation process is just as paradoxical as his impossible-looking works.

“In Vein”是Ben Storms作为设计课程的一部分，也是第一个挑战的创作，作品成功地概括了他实践的颠覆性。它采用了支架的形式，设计师解释说，这是“所有桌子之母”，一个四毫米的超薄大理石桌面放在细长的支架上，这件作品不仅挑战了大理石与坚实和重量的联系，也挑战了桌子的概念，当人们把桌面翻转后，放在墙上它就变成了一个镜像雕塑。

“In Vein”, Storms’ first expectation-defying creation which he designed as part of a design course, manages to encapsulate the subversive boldness of his practice. Taking the form of a trestle table, “the mother of all tables” as the designer explains,  it consists of an ultrathin four-millimetre-thick marble table top resting on slender trestles, “something you don’t do with marble plates because it would normally break” as he says. The piece not only challenges marble’s association with solidity and weight, it also defies the very concept of the table as when one turns the table top around and places it against a wall, it doubles as a mirroring sculptural object.

 使用一种称为液压成型的技术，将一片不锈钢板通过水压转化为有机形式。 钢板元素支撑着超薄的大理石顶层，并为桌子提供了力量。 这种设计突破了材料的界限：它可能是有史以来最轻的大理石支架桌。

Using a technique called hydro-forming, a sheet of stainless steel is shaped into an organic form using water pressure. This element supports the ultrathin marble top layer and lends strength to the table. This design pushes the boundaries of the material: it might be the lightest marble trestle table ever made. 

In Vein 获得了 Design Flanders 颁发的 Henry Van de Velde，并在 PAD 巴黎获得了“最佳当代设计作品”奖。

In Vein received the Henry Van de Velde Label from Design Flanders and won the award ‘Best Contemporary Design Piece’ at PAD Paris.

毫无疑问，“In Hale”是他最令人敬畏的设计，这是一个巨大的茶几，由形似漂浮在空中的金属垫子和大理石组成。这件作品拥有多种不同的版本(矩形或圆形搭配黄铜或不锈钢底座搭配)，它是创造力的产物，也是创新工艺的产物。废弃的大理石表面进行了抛光，粗糙的侧面揭示了材料的自然美，废弃的大理石让设计师产生了灵感，也是茶几的创作灵感来源。对于钢基座，设计师使用了一种液压成形技术，将两块金属焊接在一起，注入高压空气进行雕刻，大理石板和金属之间以泡沫胶填充。

Undoubtedly his most awe-inspiring design, “In Hale” is a monumental coffee table consisting of a massive piece of marble that floats on top of a metal cushion. Crafted in various versions (rectangular or circular marble tops can be paired with copper, brass or stainless steel bases), the piece is the product of creative ingenuity as much innovative craftsmanship. Sourced from leftovers, the marble slab is polished on top but otherwise kept as found, its rough and unpolished finish revealing the material’s natural beauty as well as hinting at the table’s inspiration – Storms came up with the idea while looking at a discarded piece of marble. For the steel base, the designer uses a hydroforming technique whereby two sheets of metal are welded together and injected with high-pressure air to create a three-dimensional cushion which is then sculpted in order to fit the marble slab’s underside and filled with foam.

类似枕头造型的茶几名为“Ex Hale”的作品中得到了呼应，这一次是一张大理石桌子，采用了巨大垫子的造型。使用相同的液压成形技术，首先制作金属垫，然后进行3D扫描，使数控机床从一块大理石上磨出相同的形状。也可以用作咖啡桌，但它看起来柔软舒适，因此让你在放置咖啡杯时产生怀疑。

The paradoxical concept of the same metal pillow is echoed in the fittingly named “Ex Hale”, this time a marble table taking the form of a monumental cushion. Using the same hydroforming technique, a metal cushion is first crafted and then scanned in 3D, allowing a CNC machine to mill the same shape from a block of marble. Also functioning as a coffee table, the marble cushion nevertheless looks soft and comfy thereby making you think twice before putting your coffee cup on it.

Ben Storms对虚幻的垫状物体的喜爱最终在“Twin Mirrors”中达到了高潮，这是两个形状相同的壁挂式充气镜子，一个是不锈钢的，另一个是大理石的，这是一种以深黑色著称的比利时大理石。使用上述技术，这件作品是制造业的典范，同时它也是耗时费力的工艺产品：大理石需要手工打磨和抛光，这一过程需要数天时间。镜子扭曲的形状与反射相辅相成。Ben Storms似乎不满足于颠覆我们对大理石和钢铁等材料的感知，他无休止的任务是挑战我们对现实的感知，并不断努力唤起一种如魔术般惊奇感。

Storm’s affinity for illusory cushion-shaped objects ultimately finds its climax in “Twin Mirrors”, two identically shaped, wall-mounted and inflated mirrors, one in stainless steel, the other in Noir de Mazy marble, an exquisite Belgian marble known for its deep black colouration. Using the aforementioned techniques, the piece is a paradigm of cutting-edge manufacturing whilst at the same time it’s also the product of laborious and time-consuming craftsmanship: the marble is sanded and polished by hand, a process that takes days. The mirrors’ mind-bending forms are complemented by the distorting reflections. Seemingly unsatisfied with undermining our perception of materials such as marble and steel, Storm’s unending quest is to  challenge our perception of reality in his ongoing endeavour to evoke a sense of wonder.

本·斯托姆斯（Ben Storms）是一位比利时设计师兼手工业者，他从材料角度进行思考。他是经验丰富的石匠，雕塑家和木工，将传统技术与高科技工艺相结合，创造出独特的艺术品和雕塑家具。他的作品在国际上引起了人们的关注，并且他在诸如Carpenters Workshop Gallery之类的画廊以及诸如布鲁塞尔Collectible之类的艺术和设计博览会中广泛展出。