These 5 Designers Are the Future of Modern Furniture from Brazil

In an interview with AD earlier this year on the occasion of his Miami showroom opening, Carlos Junqueira, the dealer behind beloved Brazilian design emporium Espasso, said of the world’s perspective on Brazilian designers, “There was a time when people only knew Niemeyer, but there are so many talented designers and architects before and after him.” It’s true: While greats like Oscar Niemeyer and Sergio Rodrigues have earned their country a place in the canon of architecture and design, Brazil hasn’t gained the same renown (or reached the astronomical auction prices ) for modern design as France, Italy, or Scandinavia, despite having a rich tradition of modernism that continues today. In the past few years, we’ve noticed more and more Brazilian designers making waves at fairs from ICFF to Maison & Objet. On a quest to find the country’s greatest, AD asked Junqueira to fill us in on some rising and established stars we should know.

Guilherme Wentz’s Officer desk, which slides open for hidden storage.

Guilherme Wentz Wentz launched his debut collection at São Paulo’s Design Weekend in 2016. Pairing minimal shapes with luxe materials, the 29-year-old designer celebrates his national heritage by using many local materials and producing his furniture in small, specialty factories in southern Brazil. Concepts like the Officer desk (shown) reveal Wentz’s penchant for combining luxury with smart design. With the Maison & Objet Americas Designer of the Year award for 2016 already under his belt, the design wunderkind has a promising future.

The Cuoro Bench by Zanini de Zanine.

Zanini de Zanine It’s fair to say that design is in this Brazilian’s blood. The son of celebrated Bahian artist, architect, and designer José Zanine Caldas, Zanini studied industrial design in his native Rio de Janeiro before interning for Sergio Rodrigues, the father of Brazilian furniture. Despite his strong influences, Zanini has developed a singular aesthetic sense, creating elegant, mod furnishings that are as much a celebration of their materials as they are pieces of furniture.

Claudia Moreira Salles furniture and lighting on display at Espasso in New York.

Claudia Moreira Salles A native of Rio de Janeiro, Salles cut her teeth at the Design Institute of her home city’s Museum of Modern Art and the Brazilian furniture company Escriba before setting out on her own. Since then, she’s become known for wood furniture with geometric silhouettes. This fall she’s debuting an innovative new line of lighting at Espasso which juxtaposes reclaimed wood with niobium iodized to create a gradient of colors.

Furniture from Carlos Motta’s Maresias line, which is named after a beach in Brazil’s São Paulo state.

Carlos Motta Though he’s Brazilian, Motta’s experience has exposed him to a range of aesthetic traditions. The designer spent time working for furnituremakers in California and Finland before returning to his native country, where he’s a professor at FAAP University in São Paulo. Motta works mostly in wood and is passionate about ensuring its integrity; he uses almost exclusively reclaimed or FSC-certified wood.

Flatware by Arthur Casas.

Arthur Casas While Casas is known primarily as an architect, his work across the spectrum is recognizable for its warmth and allusion to nature. While his architecture is contemporary and forward-thinking, the materials he uses, in both his buildings and his furniture, recall Brazil’s traditions. As a holistic designer, Casas has created everything from flatware to dining tables to lake houses.