New York design gallery Friedman Benda has presented 13 furniture pieces including some made from scrap aluminium by Brazilian design practice Estúdio Campana.
The collection was the first Humberto Campana developed without his brother and collaborator Fernando Campana, who passed away in 2022. The brothers are known for founding the São Paolo outfit Estúdio Campana.
The On the Road exhibition was the design studio’s fifth solo show with Friedman Benda and marked the practice’s 40th anniversary.
The exhibition included iterations of past designs by the studio such as the Arachnid chair, as well as pieces developed by Humberto in the years since 2022, though they all reflect the ongoing aesthetics and concerns of the brothers’ practice.
“Humberto has opened a new chapter of the studio’s practice,” said Friedman Benda.
“He invites spiritual perspectives, recent material influences and creative instinct while continuing to explore and bring new context to local craft traditions across Brazil.”
The new sculptural pieces reflect Estúdio Campana’s stated goal of using locally sourced raw materials while repurposing waste.
“We learn from the materials; they tell us what forms they should take,” said Campana.
Created using local Jequitibá wood, the Capim Dourado buffet console is covered in roundels of spun golden-toned fibre called capim dourado exclusively found in the Jalapão region of Brazil and usually used for handicrafts.
The white Jalapão chair has a sheepskin seat and roundels of the same fibre on the underside and on its legs.
Paisagem Mirror was crafted using scraps of aluminium left over from industrial production.
The same loosely welded material was used in the Paisagem Bench. The design also incorporates adobe on its tabletop, a material chosen for its use in rural buildings and its humbleness, according to the gallery.
“The works in this exhibition reflect both the tension and dynamic of city life as well as the symbiotic potential of humanity and nature,” said Friedman Benda.
“With this complex convergence, Campana resurrects and presents familiar materials in new contexts.”
A new version of the Branches Sofa, first developed in 2017, was also on view. The design demonstrates Estúdio Campana’s use of the natural shape of tree branches to form the structure of couches and lounge chairs.
Mesa Taboão, an interaction on a design began in 2013, features a top made out of differently stained planks of wood. The cast bronze Ofidia
Chandelier hung above it.
Campana has also been working to help restore a native forest near his hometown of Brotas, Brazil. The project includes the creation of a public park, which will open in June 2024.
Other Spring 2024 collectible design exhibitions include Gallery Collectional’s Urban Fabric Series 001 show in Dubai and the opening presentation of Brussels gallery Objects with Narrative’s first permanent space.
The photography is by Timothy Doyon
On the Road is on view at Friedman Benda in New York from from 7 March to 20 April 2024. For more events, exhibitions and talks in architecture and design visit Dezeen Events Guide.
