Time travel through more than a century of Brazilian design history

The Swiss-Brazilian painter, illustrator, decorator and sculptor John Louis Graz was born on April 12, 1891 in Geneva.

Lasar Segall, a modernist painter and sculptor, is born on July 21 in Vilnius (now Lithuania).

The first exhibits of modern art in our history were organized by the Russian Lasar Segall, who was an exponent of the German Expressionist Movement that, beginning in 1923, would come to stay in our country.

Living in Brazil since 1920, the Swiss multi-artist John Graz brought a baggage of influence from the European influencers, and he was soon received by the Brazilian modernism movement and was one of the artists to have an exhibit during the Week of Modern Art of 1922.

In February 1922, São Paulo hosted Modern Art Week. The event ushers in the modernist current in the country in art, architecture and design.

One of the pioneers of abstract photography and of the concrete movement in Brazil, Geraldo de Barros dedicated himself systematically to industrial design, viewing the activity based on concrete presuppositions that called for interactions between art and technique, the concrete and the abstract.

With a vast production of paintings and graphic arts, Graz gained a reputation due to his projects of interior design, for which he created furniture, glaze windows, tapestry, and other items, incorporating the concept of applied art with references of Bauhaus, from Deco Art style, and cubism. 

A Ukrainian, with studies in Rome, Gregori Warchavchik was the precursor of modern architecture in Brazil and wrote a poignant manifesto about this while teaching at the National School of Fine Arts. He designed for the use of his own family what would become considered as the first home of this style in the country. 
The new forms of living in the modern days were the central theme of the architecture heralded by Warchavchik. The environment was an inseparable part of the result, which caused the architect to design the furniture in his house and of other projects.

The Portuguese Joaquim Tenreiro was the person responsible for first establishing a truly Brazilian style for modern furniture. The son and grandson of woodworkers, he began his career in art by joining the Bernardelli Nucleus beside names such as Milton Dacosta and José Pancetti.

A multidisciplinary artist, Segall had a specific incursion in design. He designed a series of furniture for his home, whose architect was Gregori Warchavchik, a pioneer in modern architecture among us. Today that house is where the Lasar Segall Museum is located.

Employed by a large furniture making industry, Tenreiro produced "high-style furniture" until his first opportunity for presenting his own designs that he kept in the drawer, which were readily accepted. It was not chance that the architect of his house in the city of Cataguases, Minas Gerais, was Oscar Niemeyer. In the next year the designer would open his first own store.

Paulo Werneck introduced the mosaic technique to Brazil and was the author of more than one hundred panels and murals while always staying in touch with modern architecture. He also produced furniture articles such as the Gaspar table, developed in the workshop of his friend Joaquim Tenreiro.

One of the most productive names in modern Brazilian architecture, Oswaldo Bratke's career was marked with the design of two cities in the heart of the Amazon jungle that were built in the 60s. In 1948 he designed this chair, which was an inspiration from his research trips to this region and based on his studies on popular housing. 

Always with a critical and conceptual perspective, the Italian architect Lina Bo Bardi found in post-war São Paulo fertile land for her modernist experiments. Beginning in 1948, for a short period, she worked from her Arte Palma Studio, which was a venture in the furniture segment in partnership with Pietro Maria Bardi and Giancarlo Palanti, where specificities of the Brazilian culture were brought to the forefront.

The Italian architect Giuseppe Scapinelli gave a unique contribution to decorative arts and to Brazilian modern furniture. During his vast work, he did not limit himself to only references of other authors, but merged modern elements with classic furniture retakes, concepts of aerodynamics, and added other means of art such as painting and ceramic.

One of the most famous maquette makers of modern architecture, the self-learner Zanine made himself to become one of the greatest Brazilian architects. Before this, however, he dedicated himself to furniture design and founded the company Móveis Artísticos Z, a pioneer in the production in industrial scales based on the optimization of sheets of plywood.

Soon Branco & Preto located on Vieira de Carvalho Street, downtown São Paulo, became the meeting point of the modern architects that also gave rise to style classics such as the MF5 Armchair.

The perception by a group of young architects – Miguel Forte, Jacob Ruchti, Plínio Croce, Roberto Aflalo, Carlos Millan, and Che Y Hawa – of a growing market but not met of architecture of modern interior design and furniture in São Paulo, drove them to open the store Branco & Preto.

At Unilabor, who had Geraldo de Barros as its main designer and founders, his interest in participating in the political-social field became obvious, building with the employees a cooperative and self-managed model.

Beyond becoming a successful businessman in this sector by opening furniture and rug factories such as Margutta inaugurated in 1956, Scapinelli was an important promoter of the theme, especially in his monthly column in the magazine Casa e Jardim.

An icon in Brazilian modern design, Sergio Rodrigues went against the production of the time in search of a national identify for his pieces of furniture. Improbable examples arose, such as the brute Mole Armchair, designed in 1957 and after years without a demand was awarded in 1961 at the International Furniture Contest in Cantu, Italy, bringing him notoriety and causing the dominant taste of the day to be reconsidered.

At the forefront of L'Atelier and founded by him to meet the demand of his architectural projects, the Polish Jorge Zalszupin became a designer because of his gifting, as so many others. He designed treasures made of Rosewood (Jacarandá) such as the Tea Cart in the same year as the store's inauguration.

The building of Brasília was the capstone of modern Brazilian architecture and especially of Oscar Niemeyer, who was recognized as one of the global geniuses of this activity. Brasília also represented with its direct orders for its various public buildings and for its diffusing power of the modernist imagination a fundamental landmark for strengthening the modern production of furniture in Brazil.

Considered as Lina's masterpiece, in the heart of São Paulo, MASP also expresses some of her contributions in design. The most representative are the exhibit stands that innovated the way of putting on display the art in a large museum.

JORGE ZALSZUPIN worked at the limit of the materials and introduced new technologies to the Brazilian market. In the 1970s he was a pioneer in designing and producing plastic furniture and objects, such as Putzkit, with thoughts of them reaching an industrial scale.

During the 70s, Zanine moved to Nova Viçosa along the south coast of Bahia, and he went back to working as a designer, creating handcrafted furniture mostly carved from trunks of wood that had been thrown away, which was in complete opposition to the reasoning of Móveis Z.

With his High Chair, the first of the few pieces of furniture that he designed, always in partnership with his daughter Anna Maria, Niemeyer defends the alignment of the elements that make up an environment with its architectural language. This chair was launched in Paris during the architect's exile, but today it is part of the scenario in his building projects in Brasília such as in Itamaraty and in the Câmara dos Deputados (House of Representatives).

Creation of the Marchesa Bench, by Anna Maria and Oscar Niemeyer.

Isay Weinfeld, one of the most famous names in Brazilian architecture, begins his architectural practice parallel to the creation of films and scenography. The starting point of each work is a strong concept, inspired by various references from the dense cultural fabric of the architect from São Paulo, and which is carried outward through every detail of the project.

A mix of carpentry and shop, Atelier Carlos Motta opens in Vila Madalena, São Paulo. The parallelism between creation and production will be fundamental for the designer. The ease of testing prototypes will positively influence you in creating a surprising number of models of chairs and armchairs known for their comfort.

Designer Claudia Moreira Salles moves to São Paulo, where she initially works for the office furniture company Escriba. She began developing bespoke furniture and interior designs and had some of her creations displayed in Fulvio Nanni's shop, through whom she will meet Etel Carmona.

Fulvio Nanni (1952-1995), an Italian designer trained at the Polytechnic of Milan, opens Nanni Movelaria in São Paulo. Fulvio introduces the postmodern design influences of Alessandro Mendini and Ettore Sottsass using color and figuration, among others. The precise observation of changes in the living and working world also allows him to pursue ideas of flexibility and mobility.

Etel Carmona moves her carpentry workshop, then a small “personal laboratory” installed on her farm inland São Paulo, to a warehouse in Valinhos, where she begins working with more than 20 artisans – many of whom will never leave the company , like the master Moacir Tozzo.

Lia Siqueira founds Azul Arquitetura office in Rio de Janeiro, one of the most important exponents of contemporary architecture in Rio de Janeiro. Their houses are oases of calm. It is important to analyze how light enters the buildings - breezes bring light into pleasant interiors that mainly combine white and wood.

Inauguration of the first ETEL wood workshop

ETEL Collection

Sergio Rodrigues (1927-2014) is commissioned by Adolpho Bloch to design his new desk and armchair. They are pieces full of affection, as the businessman practically set up a carpentry workshop for Sergio after the designer closed his company OCA with the aim of producing all the furniture for Rede Manchete's headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. The robust designs were manufactured to the taste of the discerning customer and relaunched by ETEL.

The Etel Carmona joinery manufactures the Dueto bench designed by Claudia Moreira Salles. This first one will bear fruit for many other pieces of furniture in limited editions and impeccable finishes, characterized by a taste for pure forms, purged of excess.

Marcelo Cipis participates in the 21st Bienal de Arte de São Paulo with the installation Cipis Transworld – Art, Industry and Commerce, a fictional company embodying progressive ideas from the dawn of capitalism. The '1930s' furniture in the utopian space was created by designer Fulvio Nanni and made from fine wood by ETEL.

A charming shed in Pinheiros, in São Paulo, is chosen by Etel Carmona to market her first creations. Its design will be the result of the daily closeness to the production process in the carpentry shop, which encourages bold constructive solutions and the multiple use of tree species.

ETEL hosts the first exhibition of Minas Gerais artist José Bento in São Paulo, still at his address on Rua Dr. Virgilio de Carvalho Pinto, in Vila Madalena. You can see the trees that the artist carves out of massive demolition logs.

The book Modern Furniture in Brazil is presented at ETEL's first facilities in Pinheiros. The scholarly work of Maria Cecilia Loschiavo was a pioneer in revealing and creating narratives about Brazilian furniture from the 1920s to the 1960s, making it required reading for researchers in the field.

Scales as different as those of a public square and those of a cutlery set meet in the practice of Studio Arthur Casas, which was founded in São Paulo at the beginning of the new millennium. The architect combines Brazilian sensibility with "total design" in projects in Brazil, the United States, France, China, Mexico and Japan. He designed furniture and objects for industries such as Poliform, MisuraEmme and Riva.

In Xapuri, in the state of Acre, home of environmentalist Chico Mendes, Etel Carmona founds Aver, the first certified community forest in Brazil. The social-ecological project created a network of artisans who, under the guidance of the designer, create unique decorative accessories. 

ETEL launches its reedition methodology, reediting the furniture by architect Gregori Warchavchik, who built the first modernist house in Brazil.

ETEL begins re-issuing furniture designed by architect collective Branco & Preto from the 1950s.

Isay Weinfeld designs the Totó bar for ETEL. The piece subverts the traditional utilitarian typology by creating a portable drawers. The creation is scenographic and humorous, continuing the line of furniture to store the things Huguinho, Zezinho and Luizinho that he had launched two years earlier. The sideboard Zezinho also wins the award for the best contemporary design furniture at the Decorex fair in London in 2014.

Furniture by Dado Castello Branco becomes part of the ETEL Collection. In them, the architect imprints the elegant lines of the homes and offices that he designs for loyal customers, enchanted by the personalization that his design language allows and by the constant search for well-being.

Lia Siqueira launches her first furniture collection with ETEL. Highlight for the Cobogó Coffee Table, the Volpi and the Bedouin bookshelf.

Pieces by Polish Brazilian architect and designer Jorge Zalszupin are now reissued by ETEL.

At the age of 88, after four decades without creating any furniture, Jorge Zalszupin designed the Verônica armchair for ETEL, named after his daughter. The comfort of the seat of a Mercedes Benz owned by Etel Carmona inspired him to create the backrest and seat that hug the body.

Lia Siqueira's Beduína bookshelf has received the IF Award and the Red Dot Design Award internationally. The bookcase is an example of the designer's experimentation with carpentry techniques, mainly due to its mechanism that allows it to change its form and use.

First pieces by Arthur Casas for the ETEL Collection. Strong curves invite manipulation on the Ondas sideboard and on the Asa worktable; In the Archipel tables, the architect explores amorphous forms by working on the imperfections of curves and lines.

Dado Castello Branco creates a collection of gaming furniture that expresses a sense of welcome and nostalgia: the backgammon board, the DADO gaming table and the ping-pong table – the latter created in 2014 in collaboration with Etel Carmona. Combined with the fine craftsmanship of the details, completely aligned with his architecture propositions and projects in São Paulo.

In 2011, ETEL launched the Oswaldo Bratke Chair. The piece, which had not been produced on a large scale, was given a new version in Pau-Marfim and 104 units were produced to celebrate the same number of years that Bratke would complete on that August 24th

The mutual admiration and assimilation of principles between Etel Carmona and Carlos Motta culminates in the transfer to ETEL of the production and marketing of the Atelier line, characterized by its complex woodwork. The 13 chairs and armchairs, designed between 1979 and 2005, are responses to sometimes affective, sometimes specific requests made to friends and family to furnish the homes designed by the architect.

At ETEL, Marcelo Cipis presents the work of Kaixolla, human heads painted on wooden boxes designed by Etel Carmona. There are 25 variations of faces on a colored background, with recurring elements in the language of the São Paulo artist, such as geometric figures and surrealistic compositions.

As part of the project to restore the work of Paulo Werneck (1907-1987), managed by the heirs of the great artist and founder of mosaic mural art, ETEL creates a collection of furniture and accessories decorated with ceramic mosaic. The drawings were taken from sketches and original panels, such as that of Niemeyer's Itamaraty Palace, and executed in the artist's studio.

The artist Roberto Mícoli, one of the representatives of the exhibition that ushered in the “80s generation”, marked by the renewal of pictorial art in the country, paints on wood to apply to screens and sideboards designed by Etel Carmona. The compositions are an exploration of color with parallel and perpendicular planes of color that intersect and overlap.

The Ibá collection marks the debut of Domingos Pascali and Sarkis Semerdjian in furniture design. The architects, who founded their office in 2010, met in Isay Weinfeld's office. From learning with him comes an appreciation for unusual elements that bring a theatrical character to buildings with contemporary lines.

Luisa Strina Art Gallery invites Isay Weinfeld to create an installation in their spaces in São Paulo. The architect turned to ETEL to produce the two central pieces of his idea: a cradle and a meticulously crafted coffin, each installed in a very dark and a very light environment.

ETEL relaunches iconic furniture pieces by Oscar Niemeyer, who only dedicated himself to creating furniture in partnership with his daughter Anna Maria in the 1970s during his Parisian exile. Sculptural like its architecture, the set is made of plywood molded into daring curves, like the Marquesa bench and Rio rocking chair.

In 2013, ETEL celebrated the 20th anniversary of its first store in Pinheiros district of São Paulo (SP). The brand has relaunched an iconic piece by each of its designers who have contributed to the growth of the brand over the years with exclusive creations such as Claudia Moreira Salles, Jorge Zalszupin, Oscar Niemeyer, Carlos Motta, among other important names, on the same day Domingos Pascali and Sarkis Semerdjian joined the ETEL collection.

The “From Sergio, to Adolpho” exhibition at the IDA Fair brings limited editions made from rare wooden boards of the armchair and work table designed by Sergio Rodrigues for Adolpho Bloch to Rio de Janeiro. The exhibition was accompanied by the publication of a small book and ended as a tribute to the great designer, who died a few days before the presentation.

Siblings Susana Bastos and Marcelo Alvarenga created ALVA Design by combining their backgrounds in architecture and fine arts respectively. In the sideboards and drawers for ETEL, the sobriety of the block of wood is softened by the colored leather that hangs on invisible rods, forming networks that are not only sculptural but also serve to support objects.

The 100th birthday of Lina Bo Bardi (1914-1992) is celebrated with exhibitions, book launches and press releases that shed new and important light on the work of one of the leading architects of the 20th century, who played a pioneering role in modernization not only the architecture plays but the Brazilian culture and aesthetics.

The first book to comprehensively cover Jorge Zalszupin's career is published. Authored by philosopher and professor Maria Cecilia Loschiavo, the publication travels through five decades of work and examines lesser-known aspects such as the line of EVA plastic injectable paraphernalia. Editora Olhares' book was organized by Lissa Carmona, Director of ETEL.

Studio Arthur Casas designs the Brazilian Pavilion for Expo Milano 2015 that made a huge impact. The structure, made of corten steel railings, visually light and welcoming, was reminiscent of a pergola under which floated a hammock where you could walk, lie down and rest. The floating public space was a collaborative creation with Atelier Marko Brajovic.

The Ani light wins the German IF Gold Award. It consists of loose parts, invites interaction and allows five different positions. The design signals a growing intention of the duo: to open avenues of playfulness in the straight and intuitive lines of contemporary aesthetics.

After unsuccessful attempts at industrial production of furniture, Lina Bo Bardi only designed furniture for her architectural projects, including MASP and Casa de Vidro. ETEL brings to its catalog the folding chair from the auditorium of the museum's first headquarters at Rua 7 de Abril and the rocking chair, the Bolas de Latão armchair and the Três Pés Metal armchair from the architect's residence in Morumbi.

Five new projects leave the drawing boards of Lia Siqueira for ETEL's joinery. These include pieces with sophisticated technology such as the Coração de Madeira table and the Infinito armchair. At the Instituto table, a rare creative partnership: Lia sent the sketch to her friend Sergio Rodrigues, who returned with a redraw. The base of the table is made by connecting two legs in an L-shape.

The solo exhibition at ETEL stand at SP-Arte/Design fair brings together creations that represent new directions in the work of Claudia Moreira Salles: the use of materials that contrast with wood, such as limestone and high-performance concrete, and the design of objects .

Like John Graz and Flávio de Carvalho, Lasar Segall was a prominent visual artist of the modern avant-garde in Brazil, but he also designed furniture in his quest to modernize the country's overall aesthetic. Created in unique editions for his stay in São Paulo, where the Lasar Segall Museum is now located, the chair, table, magazine rack and modular conversation stand, referring to the first phase of the Bauhaus school in Weimer, are included in the ETEL collection .

An international competition selects Isay Weinfeld for the honorable task of redesigning the legendary restaurant at the Four Seasons in New York, an original project by Philip Johnson. Leaving the Seagram Building and housed in a building at 280 Park Avenue, the hotel will feature ETEL limited edition furniture designed exclusively by the architect.

The Studio de Arte Palma and the Pau Brasil factory were opened in 1948 by Lina Bo Bardi, Pietro Maria Bardi and Giancarlo Palanti with the aim of producing furniture on a large scale. Despite the short duration of three years, several drawings and projects remain from this experiment, in which the concise use of raw materials such as plywood and iron reinforcement is striking. In 2017, ETEL reissues a tea trolley, a mancebo, a magazine rack, an armchair and a Tríplice table.

Etel Carmona and the artist Carlos Vergara create together Relicarios, a furniture series that will be presented during the SP-Arte/Design fair. Partitions and tables sometimes have secret crevices, openings and compartments that hold the relics of Vergara, who defines himself as an artist-traveller, collecting and creating on his wanderings around the world. They are monotypes, photographic records, and souvenir objects to be discovered by users of the pieces.