Nicholas Rena studied architecture before studying ceramics, an influence visible in the precision of form and surfaces of his work. The simplicity with which Rena combines a familiar form (a vessel) with an abstract form (a vessel lying on its side, thus rendering it functionless), immediately questions its intended purpose. This mystery is emphasized by the polished smoothness of the surface, leaving the focus of the work to the space it inhabits and displaces. Rena’s work is held in the permanent collections of the Louvre, Paris and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.