Brazilian Furniture and Design

The history of Brazilian design is strongly tied to material, from the rosewood designs of Carlos Motta to the recycled belt chairs of Rodrigo Almeida. A distinctly Brazilian aesthetic emerged in the 1940s and ‘50s, when furniture designers Joaquim Tenreiro and Sergio Rodrigues began incorporating local woods, such as cane and jacaranda, into their impeccably-crafted pieces. Meanwhile, the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer (who frequently commissioned designs from Tenreiro and Rodrigues) gained international acclaim for his free-flowing buildings, which challenged the typically sedate lines of modern architecture with curving and swirling structures. Today, the brothers Fernando and Humberto Campana continue the Brazilian tradition of “upcycling” found materials—incorporating discarded objects such as stuffed animals and rope—in their playful furniture designs influenced by Brazil’s history.