Campana
Brothers Named "Designer of the Year" 2008 by
Design Miami/
By Debra Kronowitz
Photos courtesy of Studio Campana
Design
Miami/
has named Brazilian brothers and designers Humberto and Fernando Campana
its 2008 “Designer of the Year.”
Humberto and Fernando began working together in the mid-1980s, designing
furniture inspired by their home city of São Paolo, Brazil. In keeping
with tradition, the brothers will present an installation designed
exclusively for
Design Miami/. The
installation will be presented in the central courtyard of the fair’s
new temporary structure. In addition to the installation, the Campana
brothers are also designing a lounge for principal sponsor, HSBC Private
Bank.
The exhibition, hosted
by
Design Miami/, will run
Dec. 3-6. A dinner co-hosted by Russian developer Mirax Group will also
be held in their honor.
Design
Miami/’s
“Designer of the Year” award recognizes a prominent designer whose work
demonstrates quality, originality and influence, pushing the boundaries
of art, architecture and design.
“They are designers we have been captivated by for years,” said Craig
Robins,
Design Miami/’s principal.
“The Campanas brothers form a bridge between commercial production,
handicraft and the possibilities of limited edition design. Their work
emanates from Brazilian urban culture, yet they also transcend their
roots through designs that are just as relevant in
New York,
Berlin or
Tokyo. Their installation promises to be a
central talking point of this year’s
Design
Miami/.”
Drawing inspiration from Brazilian street life and carnival
culture, the brothers combine found objects –
scraps of wood, rubber hose, tissue paper, string and fabric
off-cuts, etc. – and
transform
modest materials into objects that celebrate the discarded and mundane,
and are instilled with the spirit of contemporary Brazil that they
describe as “zest for life.” Their witty, iconic designs have been
manufactured by leading Italian companies, including Edra, Alessi and
Cappellini.
“They have opened the door for a new generation of designers by creating
a language that questions received ideas about modernism and design,”
said Ambra Medda, director of
Design Miami/. |
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Each “Designer of the Year” is asked to create a permanent,
site-specific installation that will enhance the Miami Design District.
The Campanas’ installation, Diamantina,
will represent an evolution of their
TransPlastic
series, which
was unveiled at Albion Gallery in
London
in 2007.
Using the native Brazilian plant
Apuí, which grows on and eventually chokes rainforest trees,
TransPlastic
designs feature
this rattan-like fiber woven around ready-made plastic garden chairs and
other plastic objects, such as discarded toys, dolls, flip-flops and
tires. Like the rainforest trees, the man-made objects are almost
entirely swallowed up by the organic material, symbolizing nature’s
triumph over the synthetic world. The brothers will expand on this
concept, introducing native Brazilian amethyst crystals into the
weave-structure, creating a series of bio-morphic islands that visitors
will be encouraged to sit on and explore.
“This project grows out of the
TransPlastic series, where we
have sought the purity of form inspired by grottos and caves. It is our
own journey to the center of earth, like Jules Verne’s book.
Complementing this idea,
Diamantina
is built in a way that the seats are sculpted along the form,
creating a new mode of comfort and interaction. Proposing a more subtle
connection, it is a more meditative kind of experiment,” said brothers.
The inspiration for the name alludes to the precious stones encrusted in
the piece, and is also the name of a small town in central
Brazil. “There,
all types of stones and crystals are sold like candy on the street
markets. The city is ugly and seems as if it was lost in time,
continuing to live quietly on the heart of
Brazil. By its mixture of materials,
both poor by the wicker and precious by the combination with the natural
amethyst, as the city,
Diamantina evokes
the same sensation of long forgotten poetry,” they said.
Design
Miami’s/ temporary site was designed by
New York architects
Aranda/Lasch and is located at NE 39th Street and
First Court in the Design District. Sponsors
for the event include
HSBC
Private Bank, AUDI AG and
Swarovski Crystal
Palace. |
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