Campana Brothers, Transforming Chairs Into Art Pieces

Campana Brothers were founded in 1984, São Paulo – Brazil, by the brothers Fernando and Humberto, and since then the studio is recognised for its furniture design and intriguing products. Nowadays, the studio operates in the areas of architecture, landscape, scenography, fashion as well as special projects and commissions.

On its 35th anniversary, the studio was internationally acknowledged as a pioneer of disruptive design, which led them to create a ground-breaking language in their field. Proudly rooted in Brazilian culture and traditions, Campana Brothers’ work carries universal values at its core – such as freedom and human dignity, through the search of one’s identity from life experiences.

Like many of their designs, the Iron collection expresses a polarity between the dream and the actuality, between fantasy and gravity. The objects embody a penchant for expressing effortlessness and weightlessness.

A staple in many of the Campana Brothers creations, bamboo, one of the most sustai nable materials today, lends itself to a wide array of applications, from resistant structures in furniture to light decorative objects. with very little interference to the original shape, respecting its natural state.

Fernando and Humberto Campana have shaped a uniq ue and surprising way of representing the world around them. Their combined curiosity for reusing mundane or discarded materials and increasing attention to unusual methods of upholstery—the stuffing, cushions, fabric, and other materials used to upholster furniture— eventually led the designers to experiment with masses of discarded cloth, including rubber and carpeting, the plush toys from their childhood, and the traditional fabric dolls made in Esperança—a small town in Northeastern Brazil.

This Brazilian Baroque collection takes its inspiration from the intensively decorative and sumptuous Baroque style of the 17th and 18th centuries, combined with the Campana Brothers’ own take on Brazilian art and culture. The collection includes new coffee tables, to be shown for the first time at David Gill Galleries, as well as a selection of works first shown at The Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris last autumn.

Campana Brothers‘ creative process elevates everyday materials to nobility, bringing not only creativity to design but also Brazilian characteristics such as colours, mix and matches, creative chaos, the triumph of simple solutions, in an artistic and poetic way.

Campana Brothers‘ pieces are part of permanent collections of renowned cultural institutions such as Centre Pompidou and the Musée Des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, MoMa, New York, Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo and Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein.

The Racket Collection was inspired by a tennis racket given to the brothers by his father when they were kids. Although they never took interest in the sport, they were fascinated by the transparency effect and lightness of the nylon thread, which triggered their curiosity about the non-material. A trip to Asia at the time also inspired an East versus West fusion, creating a striking juxtaposition with a traditional bamboo mandala.

The Transwood collection uses genuine Brazilian manual techniques and a unique combination of wood and natural wicker materials. Featuring “Dois Irmãos” (Two Brothers), a bench that visually evokes unity and partnership, representing the values of Fernando and Humberto Campana. Created to celebrate 35 years of the brothers’ careers, the bench has just received the Casa Vogue Design Brasil Awards 2020 in the Collection Design category.

The Pirarucu Collection features the striking and unique texture of the Amazonian freshwater fish of the same name. Thanks to research and training, native and riverside communities in the region practice sustainable, non-predatory fishing, strictly following regulations to avoid reproduction seasons and preserving the species in its natural habitat. Monitored by the Brazilian Environmental Control Agency (IBAMA), each skin is numbered and tracked, assuring quality, and sustainability control. The collection includes armchairs, cabinets, a buffet (in natural and aluminium) and a special bronze cast mermaid chair.

The Bolotas collection (2015) was initially inspired by stone walls, but the name came from the first prototype that showed up to be soft and round like an acorn (‘bolotas’ in Portuguese). Each piece is covered with sustainable CHROME-FREE leather, assuring the tanning process does not generate solid residues in the water that could impact the environment, The leather also carries the LWG GOLD certification, the highest rating given by the internationally recognized Leather Working Group, that regulates the number of chemicals allowed in leather tanning.

Cangaço pays tribute to genuine Brazilian craftsmanship, here represented by the intricate leatherwork of Master Espedito Seleiro, a national reference to traditional northeastern leather goods production, from saddles to footwear. This limited collection is the perfect blend of contemporary and tradition, with a total of six pieces: an armoire, a bench, a mirror, a chair and a shelf.

In 2009, the Campana Brothers founded Instituto Campana, in order to preserve their ever-growing collection for future generations and to promote design as a tool for transformation through social and educational programs.

Discover more about the Campana Brothers here.

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