BRAZILIAN MODERN DESIGN

By Alberto Vicente, Marcelo Vasconcellos. Text by Maria Cecília Loschiavo dos Santos, Tatiana Sakurai Olhares

While the names of iconic and award-winning Brazilian architects are easily summoned, the nation’s furniture designers who worked between 1940 and 1970 are still to get the notoriety and world stage they deserve. This exciting new volume – which ought to be on the shelf of every designer – offers a necessary history and catalogue of work by these important men and women.

This huge 484-page tome features 15 of the leading Brazilian furniture designers from the modern period, and is organised into sections by designer, including Lina Bo Bardi, Joaquim Tenreiro, José Zanine Caldas, Sergio Rodrigues and Jorge Zalszupin.

Each introductory essay is thoughtful, but the text by Professor Maria Cecilia Loschiavo and Tatiana Sakurai is especially compelling, as they make pointed connections between the social, political and economic events that surrounded the creation, production and distribution of these designs.

All sections feature a short text (also by Loschiavo) and a catalogue of their work – including interior ensemble shots. Each designer is equally intriguing, but my eyes were drawn particularly to the works of Aída Boal and Lina Bo Bardi.

Written in Portuguese and English, this volume speaks of the importance of being vigilant in documenting and analysing designers as cultural producers that have a crucial role as we attempt to understand our past, present and future.