R & Company’s co-founders Zesty Meyers and Evan Snyderman can be credited for bringing mid-century Brazilian furniture to the conscious of collectors, for supporting scholarship, and for forging the path for its now international market. They have been responsible for disseminating the allure of design created in Brazil during the decades after WWII by immigrants bringing the philosophy of modernist design from Europe, while succeeding to inform it with locality and unique national identity. Every exhibition curated by the two has come to mark an important moment in the recognition and documentation of Brazilian design. Now, the gallery has opened a solo exhibition of Sergio Rodrigues (below), presenting some of the seminal and innovative pieces of furniture that the Brazilian designer had created during his long and successful six-decade career. Whereas his colleague Joaquim Tenreiro (1906-1992) created elegant, formal, and contemporary furniture, and his contemporary Jose Zanine (1919-2001) chiseled and carved sculptural works of chunky woods, Rodrigues (1927-2014) was the ambassador of Brazilian informal, laid-back lifestyle, while his most iconic piece, the Tonico Armchair of 1963 (above), also presented in this exhibit, perfectly summarizing his language and philosophy. The exhibition opened last week and will be on view until April 13.
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