CURATORSHIP ALBERTO VICENTE AND MARCELO VASCONCELLOS
Depending on its conception, furniture naturally imposes itself as a work of art. Art has no supporting boundaries, it is open to all expression of subjectivity and conceptualization, and the artistic proposals based on elements of day-to-day life represent an ever instigating path. In Brazil, the production of named designer furniture has diversified, with consistent and varied expressions. The connection with the art market, however – which is strong in other countries –, still has considerable room for development. The exposition New and Unique: Design-Art presents 28 limitededition creations, produced specially for the occasion by some of the foremost names and exponents of Brazilian design, as well as one Italian. The proposal is to stimulate designers who already have their own expression to relate more directly with the field of the arts, and to ofer the public a taste of this artistic proposition in the production of furniture and objects, taking advantage of the privileged audience that the IDA, Arte Rio and the Galeria Bolsa de Arte provide. This initiative gives continuity to the partnership that began with the exhibition entitled Modernos/Contemporaneos (the Modern and the Contemporary), which brought together around 50 pieces by exponents of Brazilian design in the first half of 2014, at the Galeria Bolsa de Arte, in São Paulo. The concern is precisely the same, that of ofering a less obvious view of furniture and to strengthen the crossover points it shares with the art market. In November, this collection of unique and original pieces will also be presented in São Paulo, being included in an exclusive auction to be held at the same gallery.
ALANDER ESPECIE POLTRONA A.F.E.T.O A.F.E.T.O ARMCHAIR
The symmetrical weave of macramé is a prominent feature in the work of the artist Alander Especie applied to furniture. With the hand-weaving of plaited cords, he seeks to establish an experience of relationship between the user and the piece of furniture, expressed in the embracing of the body and in the tactile sensation provided by the A.F.E.T.O armchair.
PRESENTATION
The collection of works presented in this book-catalogue highlights diferent co-existing trajectories within current Brazilian furniture design. It dialogues and moves forward from a starting point represented by the modern Brazilian furniture of the last century, with its strong tradition of using wood and moves forward in thematic articulations, in the use of unusual materials, in styles that present a disturbing singularity. They are pieces from the present day that manifest the specificities and eccentricities of the times in which we live, as well as the stalemates and deadlocks of globalization. Items of furniture that recuperate the strength of Brazilian vernacular design and artisanal techniques; pieces that bring a high level of artistry, thereby unveiling a further chapter in this highly delicate and complex relationship between art and design. There are also pieces of furniture and interventions that present us with the facet of a design as critique and speculation, and it is this speculative design that intrigues the eye of the reader and invites them to reconsider the role of design in the contemporary world. Speculative design is questioning, after all, among the several possible applications of the word speculate, one indicates the idea asking questions, enquiring and prying. The new generation of designers brings the vigor of the speculative attitude, exploring the role of design as a catalyst for lifestyles, for dreams and for new domestic landscapes. Finally, there are many cases in which these tendencies mix and the designer comes to make multiple and overlapping conceptual, technological and artisanal propositions, pointing not only to their insertion within the complex dynamics of today’s world, but also to a privileged, sometimes poetical, point-of-view of contemporary life. This speculative design is now exploring the tradition of Brazilian vernacular techniques, such as in the use of macramé lacework applied to furniture by the artist Alander Especie. The speculations also revolve around the discarding of products and materials and the extensive topic of sustainability. One can see, for example, the pieces by Ale Jordão, utilizing parts from automobile bodies. The designer Domingos Tótora transforms the landscape into furniture and objects in the small town of Maria da Fé, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Etel Carmona works with the skin of the black caiman (Melanosuchus niger), considered to be the black alligator of Brazil. Extracted by a cooperative in the State of Rondônia, based on a management plan for the preservation of the species in that region. Carlos Motta, Guto Requena and Zanini de Zanine, among others, take these speculations to stimulating and inspiring new levels. The work by Jacqueline Terpins “Objetos no espelho estão mais próximos do que aparentam” (“Objects in the mirror are closer than they look”) brings another dimension of the word speculate: the meaning of something that refers to or pertains to a mirror. Objects of pleasure, objects of culture, objects of speculative design, a mirror of the present day, of enquiries and of magic.
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