art quest

there's a bit of an art mystery going on.... and i need your help.
these interesting coral-like vases keep showing up around me from different sources and now that i'm curious to find out who did them {simply because of the frequency with which they've been appearing} i can't find out a thing.
our office has acquired two {as a gift} and i've asked several people here about them, and even taken the liberty of picking them up and flipping them over to see if there was any info underneath. but i came up with nada.

{a side table in our conference room}

and of course i've searched the entire internet and still can't find out who the artist is or where these pieces come from.

{photo from decorno's blog}

{photo taken by steven randazzo}

so if you know the answer, or have any ideas on where i can get it, please share ~ my curiosity would be ever so grateful!