Joaquim Tenreiro

Tenreiro's legacy is vast and, perhaps, immeasurable, given his contributions to the history of Brazilian art, design and architecture. Portuguese by birth (Melo Guarda – 1906), he came to Brazil as a boy when he was two years old and died in Itapira, in the interior of São Paulo in 1992. In the interval of eighty-six years, Tenreiro painted, drew and sculpted, giving birth to what became his greatest job in 1933, where he worked as a furniture designer at the companies Laubissh & Hirth, Leandro Martins and Francisco Gomes. Ten years later, in 1943, the first workshop was born: Langenbach & Tenreiro, and a few years later, two furniture stores were opened; first in Rio de Janeiro and later in São Paulo.

ETEL, in partnership with Instituto Tenreiro, is pleased to present the reeditions that marked the resurgence of the father of modern Brazilian furniture, Joaquim Tenreiro. 

This achievement was due to the partnership that started in 2021, with Tenreiro Institute, an organization created by the designer’s family, led by the president and grandson, Marcelo Tenreiro, with the objective of preserving the legacy and offering information about life, as well as assisting in the research and cataloging of the work by Joaquim Tenreiro.