What begins as a table quickly turns into a question. Not a question of function, even though the Lovertible certainly functions, but a question of essence: is this a design object? A sculpture? A conceptual artwork? The two latest iterations of the Lovertible, one by Kool Koor, the other by Toxic, reignite this timeless debate between art and design, and remind us that perhaps the boundary is not a line at all, but a beautiful blur.
Originally designed by Vittorio Strigari and Lucas Orsatelli for Design Miami 2015, the Lovertible was conceived as an ode to transformation. The name itself, a neologism born of “love” and “convertible”, sets the tone. Indeed, the “love” table combines adaptability and minimalism. It can function either as a coffee or dinner table, whether the letters are laid horizontal or upright. And in the absence of the glass top, each letter acts as an independent stool or décor element. Each letter is made of Corian, DuPont’s miraculous solid surface material, known for its seamless finish, sculptural potential, resistance to time, stain, and the occasional espresso spill. In short, it is a perfect canvas, not only for life, but for art.
Kool Koor and Toxic are two legends of the New York graffiti scene whose aesthetic languages helped shape the visual vocabulary of the 1980s. Both artists have taken the Lovertible’s surface not as a limitation, but as an invitation to infuse this functional object with the spirit of their own practice. Kool Koor’s Lovertible is a futuristic intergalactic symphony of line and geometry, applied to a Corian spacecraft. Toxic, on the other hand, brings energy, urgency, and rhythm, painting directly from the bloodstream of the city. His Lovertible does not just sit in a room, it dances.
Toxic, "Lovertible"
Those are not tables that disappear beneath coffee cups and fashion magazines. They are true declarations. They live in that fascinating liminal space between fine art and collectible design, a space famously explored by François-Xavier Lalanne, whose sheep, monkeys, and birds continue to graze auction floors with ever-increasing fervor. Lalanne understood that to make art that serves a function is not to reduce its power, but to expand its reach.
Of course, we can also relate to Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE sculpture. In both Indiana’s work and the Lovertible, the word “LOVE” is not merely a motif, it becomes a structure and a form of architecture. Indiana stacked letters like building blocks; Strigari and Orsatelli unfold them like flower petals. Kool Koor and Toxic then lend each of these petals a painter’s soul. They all, in their own way, render “LOVE” tangible, edged in form, color and material.
But we should not get lost in semantics. Whether you call those works sculpture, design, or even furniture, the result is clear: they are objects that elevate space, provoke thought, and invite interaction. In the art world, where the line between disciplines is increasingly porous, those works offer collectors a unique proposition. They are not only visually striking and historically resonant (Kool Koor and Toxic both have deep roots in major art movements), but they are also rare, durable, and usable. Indeed, “usable” in a literal way. After all, what is more usable than a work of art that does not just sit on a wall, but that you can sit on yourself?
The Lovertible is, in the end, a metaphor for the merging of categories, the blending of form and function, and yes, for love itself. Love is not a static concept to be framed and hung. It moves, opens, transforms. Just like this table.
So you can sit down, pour yourself a drink, and ask yourself: where does art end, and where does design begin? Then let the Lovertible answer you in silence, with the confidence of something that knows it is both. And knows you know it too.
Sebastien Laboureau
10 June 2025