Brazilian design selection update
Sunday, February 14th, 2010
SuperPop Washing Machine, Chelles & Hayashi Design for Mueller Electrodomésticos
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SuperPop Glass Washing Machine, Chelles & Hayashi Design for Mueller Electrodomésticos
Archive for the ‘Rio de Janeiro’ Category
Protected: Layers of Value
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010A vote for South America’s design capital
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
I only saw the sun for three hours during the six days I spent in Rio de Janeiro last August. My one and only stroll down Copacabana beach took place under a rain storm, while three-meter waves pounded the shore. I was lucky to even get a view of the city (above) from the top of the Corcovado. The last week of my one-month research trip in Brazil may have been anything but sun-kissed, but I didn’t need to get a tan to think Rio de Janeiro is today in a great place to become South America’s main design destination.
Alvorada leaves the country
Friday, August 28th, 2009
After 31 days, seven cities and over 25 interviews and many, many hours of observations, conversations and reflections on Brazilian design, I left Rio at dusk on August 26th.
I will keep updating alvorada.org from Lisbon and – as of September 14th – from New York, with more mini-profiles, stories and other findings.
I intend on returning to São Paulo for a week (October 19th to 25th) for some more interviews – if I can work out the necessary funding.
The Apple Tree
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
When asked once about why he writes, Portuguese writer Antonio Lobo Antunes answered: “Ask an apple tree why it bears apples”. During our conversation at his studio/showroom in Humaitá, Sérgio Rodrigues used the same analogy to describe his own work, an analogy he uses to answer the people who question him about “not following trends” or designing today things that seem to have been designed 40 years ago.
At 85 years of age, Rodrigues is not particularly concerned with critics, not even with the esprit du temps. His designs – over 1,500 of them – are reflections of how he draws and thinks, processes that have remained largely untouched over his long career. He is one of Brazil’s pioneers in furniture design and remains an inspiration for designers all over the country – but particularly abroad, as his work has gained increased recognition and value over the last years.
Rodrigues is a pleasure to talk to, and our and a half was surely not enough to learn more about his achievements, friendships, failures and curious stories (like Kim Novak’s goat standing on a Poltrona Mole in her house in California) he talks about with great wit and largesse.
We’ll be meeting again on September 15th, when Sérgio will come to New York for the launch of his Chifruda chair at Espasso
When asked about why he writes, Portuguese writer Antonio Lobo Antunes once answered: “Ask an apple tree why it bears apples”. During our conversation at his studio/showroom in Humaitá, Sérgio Rodrigues used this very quote to describe his own work, an analogy he uses to answer the people who question him about “not following trends” or designing today things that seem to have been designed 40 years ago.
At 85 years of age, Rodrigues is not particularly concerned with critics, not even with the esprit du temps. His designs – over 1,500 of them – are reflections of how he draws and thinks, processes that have remained largely untouched over his long career. He is one of Brazil’s pioneers in furniture design and remains an inspiration for designers all over the country – but particularly abroad, as his work has gained increased recognition and value over the last years.
Rodrigues is a pleasure to talk to, and our hour and a half was surely not enough to learn more about his achievements, friendships, failures and curious stories (like Kim Novak’s goat standing on a Poltrona Mole in her house in California) he talks about with great wit and generousity.
We’ll be meeting again on September 15th, when Sérgio will come to New York for the launch of his collection of lamps and “Chifruda” chair at Espasso.
