Reimagining a Master of 20th Century Brazilian Design

Joaquim Tenreiro, a pioneer of Brazilian modernism, established factories in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo during the 1940s, crafting iconic furniture from native hardwoods, rattan, and cane. His works became essential pieces for Brazilian architects and formed a crucial pillar defining 20th-century Brazilian modernism.

Today, collector and curator Ulysses de Santi has been acquiring works by Tenreiro and his contemporaries, supplying pieces to institutions like the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and organizing collaborative exhibitions with Mendes Wood Gallery and Frieze.

On September 5, de Santi presents a special exhibition at Christie's LA: 'Lightness & Tension'. This exhibition looks beyond the past toward the future, juxtaposing Tenreiro's historical works with the debut furniture collection by São Paulo-based contemporary artist Lucas Simões, exploring the continuity of Brazilian modernism.

How Two Generations Meet

De Santi recalls his entry into design collecting:

"It was intuitive at first. I was drawn to the presence certain objects commanded in space. When I first saw a tea cart by Jorge Zalszupin, the curves, materials, and technical ingenuity were completely novel. It was elegant yet functional, expressive yet restrained. That piece opened the door to a much larger story—Brazilian modernism."

For over a decade, de Santi has collected historical pieces and established rigorous authentication systems. But at some point, he felt the need to move the conversation forward.

"I wanted to see how the legacy of modernism could inform new creation, and how contemporary work could reconfigure the past."

He proposed a collaboration with Lucas Simões, a longtime friend whose work he'd been collecting for over 20 years. While Simões is renowned for his installation art and sculpture, his architectural background has led him to design furniture and tools for his own studio use.

"I'm interested in integrating form, function, and meaning—creating objects that are visually compelling while serving practical purposes in daily life."

Within the Context of Brazilian Modernism

Brazilian modernism was not merely a derivative of European modernism. During the 1940s-50s, Brazilian architects and designers combined indigenous materials with artisanal techniques to construct a distinctive aesthetic. Oscar Niemeyer's organic architecture and Tenreiro's furniture complemented each other, creating the unique language of Brazilian modernism.

Tenreiro particularly focused on structures that simultaneously embodied lightness and tension. His chairs, composed of slender frames and woven rattan, maintained strength through exquisite balance. This design philosophy emerged from Brazil's tropical climate and spatial culture—where boundaries between outdoor and indoor spaces blur.

De Santi felt the need to move beyond merely preserving this legacy to reinterpreting it from a contemporary perspective. He believed Simões' work could fulfill this role.

Lucas Simões' New Experiments

As an artist, Simões has worked with space and materiality. His installations often reconfigure space by calculating the viewer's body and gaze. This approach extends to his furniture design.

"My furniture is an extension of my sculptural practice. I use the same materials and techniques, but they directly engage with the human body and domestic space. Integrating form, function, and meaning is the most intriguing challenge."

Simões' debut furniture collection doesn't replicate Tenreiro's legacy. Instead, it reinterprets the same question—how to simultaneously achieve lightness and tension—using contemporary materials and techniques. This is not simply a juxtaposition of past and present, but an attempt to create dialogue between two eras.

Future Prospects [AI Analysis]

This exhibition has the potential to demonstrate that Brazilian modernism is not merely historical legacy but an ongoing conversation. Particularly at a time when American collectors and museums are expanding their interest in Latin American design, the collaboration between de Santi and Simões will likely suggest directions for contemporary reinterpretations of Brazilian modernism.

The exhibition also proposes a new model for design collecting. Moving beyond preserving historical works, it extends that legacy through collaboration with contemporary artists. This is a curatorial strategy that shows not just the past on display, but how the past inspires present and future creation.

As de Santi noted, the time has come to "move the conversation forward." When Tenreiro's furniture is placed alongside Simões' experiments, we will witness that Brazilian modernism is not simply a 1940s style, but a design language that continues to evolve.