CovetED is eager to tell our readers about the designers from Brazil. In 1983, the two brothers Humberto Campana and Fernando Campana teamed up to make furniture made of ordinary materials including scrap and waste products such as cardboard, rope, cloth and wood scraps, plastic tubes and aluminium wire. From 1997, some of their products including the Vermelha chair began to be produced and sold in Italy.

In 1998 the Campana Brothers became the first Brazilian artists to exhibit their work at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, along with German lighting designer Ingo Maurer. The Campana Brothers are represented by Friedman Benda in New York, Carpenters Workshop Gallery in London and Paris, as well as Galleria O in Rome.

Biography

The Campana Brothers, Fernando and Humberto  were born in Brotas, a city outside of São Paulo. Together, in 1983, they founded the Estudio Campana.

In 1998, “Project 66” was their first international show with Ino Maurer, curated by Paola Antonelli of New York MoMa.   Also in 1998, they established their first design partnership with Edra in Italy.   Each year, the brothers launch new products and concepts in collaboration with international brands such as Alessi, Artecnica, Bernardaud, Baccarat, Corsi Design, Consentino, Edra, Nodus, Magis, Moleskine, Skitch, Plus Design, Venini, and Trousseau, among others.

In 2002, the Estudio Campana started crafting its own line of limited editions and unique pieces handmade at the studio in Sao Paulo. These special editions are represented by international galleries including Friedman Benda in New York, Galleria O in Rome, Carpenters Workshop Gallery in London, Firma Casa in Sao Paulo and Kreo in Paris.
Campana pieces are included in the permanent collections of the MoMa in New York; the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris Musée Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris the Vitra Design Museum,  Weil am Rhein and the Museum of Modern Art, Sao Paulo.

Background & Realizations: the projects

Concepts by the Campana Brothers at Friedman Benda

New work by the Campana Brothers including a cabinet made from the skin of the world’s largest freshwater fish is on show at gallery Friedman Benda in New York.

The exhibition features several new series, including Boca – a range of pieces upholstered in a patchwork of roughly stitched cowhide.

The exhibition features several new series, including Boca – a range of pieces upholstered in a patchwork of roughly stitched cowhide.

The Pirarucu cabinet is made from the leathery skin of the eponymous fish, which is sustainably harvested in Brazil.

Racket is a collection of chairs and screens made from bent brass rods with nylon threads used for the seat and back, which also features sections taken from the backs of old Thonet chairs.

The Fitas series consists of a buffet, cabinet and table featuring surfaces filled in with spiralling strips of bent steel.

A new sofa and chair covered in stuffed alligators is made by Orientavida, an NGO that teaches underprivileged women embroidery skills.

The Detonado chair is made from stainless steel with a wicker patchwork covering the arms, back and seat.

Amethyst rocks sourced from the brothers’ home city of Sao Paulo are fixed to glass surfaces in the Ametista collection.

Campana Brothers bring “Nature Indoors” with bristly installation

Brazilian designers Fernando and Humberto Campana have created an indoor “forest” of flax and wood at the Bildmuseet in Umeå – their first project in Sweden.

The Campana brothers site-specific Woods installation inside the Swedish contemporary arts museum comprises thick angled strands of textured materials sourced from the local countryside.

See also – TOP INTERIOR DESIGNERS | JOSEPH MINTON

“We found the inspiration in nature,” said Humberto Campana in a statement. “The message we wanted to generate was bringing nature indoors. The forest taking its place back and turning tables.”

Strips of wood and flax are shaped into shaggy forms that reach up to the ceiling. Visitors to the museum can walk around and in between the vertical elements.

The São Paulo duo, best known for creating unusual furniture pieces from everyday objects and materials, gathered the lengths into bunches and attached them to strings so they hang downward.

The bristly tree-like elements become thinner as they reach the ceiling and are angled to pass across each other.

See also – TOP ARCHITECTS | LAUREN ROTTET FROM ROTTET STUDIO

Some sections stem from others like tree branches, creating more complex structures that tower above visitors walking through the space.

Earlier this year, architect David Chipperfield revealed another indoor forest installation at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin – its last exhibition before a major renovation project.

Top Projects Gallery