Brazil’s Mid-Century Design Moment

Brazil, a relatively fresh contender on the international design scene, is beginning to make ripples in the auction world, if not yet full-blown waves. Over the past decade, the market for Brazilian design, particularly by star designers of the mid-20th century such as Joaquim Tenreiro, Sergio Rodrigues, and José Zanine Caldas, has been commanding more attention and rising prices.

The reasons behind this recent Latin American phenomenon are varied, not least of which is Brazil’s “economic miracle” of the past decade. The country charged ahead with soaring national economic growth rates while the US and Europe languished in recession. This favorable environment has encouraged a new crop of young Brazilian designers.

The country started to garner international attention in the 1990s, when the Brazilian brothers Humberto and Fernando Campana emerged as one of the most innovative contemporary design practices of the time. They won throngs of new fans through their exposure at the Salone del Mobile in Milan and MoMA exhibition Projects 66: Campana/Ingo Maurer. An enthusiastic international audience welcomed the work of the Campanas because of the highly articulate way in which their unique aesthetic and material sensibility suggests attributes of a national design language. “Brazilian designers such as the Campana brothers offer a really fresh and different take on design, and a unique aesthetic,” says Carina Villinger, 20th Century Design Specialist at Christie’s. “Their work is visually very interesting and fun. Ever since their work started appearing on the market, the prices have been on an upward trajectory.” The brothers’ Cartoon chair, circa 2007, realized $40,000 at a Christie’s sale in New York in December 2013.

TWENTIETH CENTURY REVIVAL
Brazil hasn’t received this amount of international attention since the 1940s-1960s, when the country experienced a period of economic growth and a cultural flourishing on par with that of the past decade. Mid-century, Brazil developed a unique modern style with innovative solutions to the country’s environmental conditions. International architects, critics, and curators marveled at the surprising and formally daring designs coming from a country that had traditionally built in the mold of colonial and European styles. 

National confidence grew as cities and culture boomed: the new national capital Brasília became the envy of the modern world, bossa nova took over global airwaves, Brazil reigned as the 1958 World Cup soccer champions, and import substitution policies pumped foreign loans into the economy. And Brazilian designers began to evolve mass-produced methods alongside their mastery of artisanal craft, making objects that fit this modern, progressive Brazil.

The most visible ambassador for Brazilian mid-century modern is the still-prolific Sergio Rodrigues

Two designers – Joaquim Tenreiro and José Zanine Caldas – pioneered modernist design in Brazil. Their work defined the attributes we continue to recognize as Brazilian even today. The Portuguese immigrant Tenreiro (1906-1992) was a master of reinterpreting vernacular and colonial forms in a modern way. He trained in some of Brazil’s most productive furniture companies like Laubisch-Hirth, which helped him hone his own craftsmanship in fine tropical hardwoods. Eventually he worked in his own small workshop producing virtuoso pieces in wood. Connoisseurs of Brazilian design cite his 1947 Cadeira de Três Pés – comprising five types of laminated native wood – as one of the period’s masterpieces. 

PIONEERING SUSTAINABILITY
José Zanine Caldas (1919-2001), in contrast, designed for mass production as well as the artisanal one-off. He founded the Movéis Artisticos Z furniture company in São José dos Campos in 1948 after developing processes for industrially laminating wood. His designs reduced the need for hand finishing, which lowered costs for the average consumer, and thus brought him commercial success throughout the country. In later years, however, he turned his attention toward reclaiming leftover lumber from the rainforest for his furniture. With his mission to encourage sustainable use of native woods, in 1983 Zanine Caldas founded DAM (Foundation Center for the Development of Applications of Wood). His furniture demonstrates the Brazilian taste for generous proportions that also maintain a sensual relation to the body.

The most visible ambassador for Brazilian mid-century modern is the still-prolific Sergio Rodrigues. His Mole armchair became an icon of Brazilian style for its easy-going, over-stuffed cushions (thus the name “mole”, which means “soft” in Portuguese). Rodrigues’s furniture has graced important government buildings in Brasília, as well as the Brazilian Embassy in Rome.

Other lesser-known designers are beginning to arrive on the market – Forma was an international design company founded by Austrian Martin Eisler (1913-1977) and Italian Carlo Hauner (1927-1997). The pair launched Forma after purchasing the Pau-Brasil company in 1951 from another pair of pioneering immigrants, the Italians Lina Bo Bardi and Pietro Maria Bardi. Forma had a factory, textile manufactory, and furniture showroom in Brescia, Italy, as well as in São Paulo and Buenos Aires.

Another firm that is beginning to receive attention is Branco & Preto. Opened in 1952, the furnishings boutique was the brainchild of a group of architects including Roberto Aflalo, Miguel Forte, Plínio Groce, Che Y Hwa, Carlos Millan, and Jacob Ruchti, all hailing from the Mackenzie Institute in São Paulo. They wanted to create a line of wood furnishings suited to the modern architecture they were building. The firm became famous for its textiles, notably in bold black-and-white stripes. Pieces are reproduced today by Etel Carmona for her company ETEL.

“Stunning tropical woods combined with sleek forms make warm yet elegant works that integrate easily into a multitude of interior styles”
Carina Villinger, 20th Century Design Specialist at Christie’s

Brazilian modern design would not have had much recognition without the pioneering work of Brazilian design historians like Ethel Leon and Maria Cecilia Loschiavo dos Santos. And outside Brazil, two galleries based in New York, R 20th Century and Espasso, are largely responsible for introducing Brazilian-made modern furniture to the US and the larger global market. Zesty Meyers and Evan Snyderman opened R 20th Century in 1997 and quickly built a collection and archive of Brazil’s greatest mid-century designers. With its monographic gallery shows on the work of Sergio Rodrigues, Hugo França, and most recently Joaquim Tenreiro, and frequent showcasing of Brazilian design at Design Miami, R 20th Century has been a strong force in putting Brazilian design on the map.

DESIGN THAT TRAVELS
São Paulo native Carlos Junqueira opened Espasso in 2002 as the first furniture showroom in the US to feature exclusively Brazilian modern and contemporary design. Espasso now has showrooms in Los Angeles and London. Collectors have been eagerly buying these Brazilian pieces to sit alongside the already established US and Scandinavian icons of mid-century modern.

Villinger at Christie’s has this to add about the growing appeal of Brazilian design: “Designers such as José Zanine Caldas, Joaquim Tenreiro, and Sergio Rodrigues again are very popular with design collectors as well as interior designers. The use of stunning tropical woods combined with sleek forms makes very warm yet elegant works that integrate easily into a multitude of different interior styles. Tenreiro and Rodrigues in particular have played a very important role in mid-century Brazilian design to this day, and their designs represent a fresh take on the mid-century aesthetic. The galleries mentioned above – R 20th Century and Espasso – have done great work to raise the profiles of these artists. This, combined with some very strong auction prices, has firmly established these artists on the market.” 

Find more inspiring Brazilian design in our spotlight on Rio de Janeiro’s Jardim Botânico