The selection presented at the Patinoire Royal - Galerie Valérie Bach in Brussels on December 18, 2019 by PIASA's design department is a rare opportunity to highlight one of the icons that deeply marked the modern history of his country by offering for sale two pieces made by Jose Zanine Caldas.
Born in the province of Bahia, this artist began his career in Sao Paolo where he became professor of urban planning and architecture at the university before settling in Rio de Janeiro in 1942.
It was in the mid-1950s that he returned to his native region, partly covered by the Amazonian forest. This return to nature profoundly influences the shapes and materials of her pieces, which combine elegance and ecological awareness at the time avant-garde. With materials from deforestation, the designer creates organic forms.
A leading figure in Brazilian modernity alongside architects Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012) and Lucio Costa (1902-1998), he has been the subject of a real passion in recent years, both among international collectors and the general public.
Jose Zanine Caldas (1919-2001) Namoradeira
Estimation : 75000 / 95000 €
Halfway between sculpture and design, José Zanine Caldas' itinerary takes pleasure in thwarting the rigid boundaries between disciplines. Namoradeira, the sculptural armchair presented during this session embodies in itself the way of its author. Produced in 1980, it is composed - like the vast majority of its corpus - of pequi wood.
Here the memory of the material is left visible. Cut from a single trunk, this piece of furniture is mentioned in Maria Cecilia Loschiavo dos Santos Modern furniture in Brazil, published in 2015. His estimate of between 75,000 and 95,000 euros indicates how popular the designer is with the public but also with Brazilian and international collectors.
The other piece, a table with a triple and modular base, can be perceived as a point of convergence between tradition and modernity since on the one hand it is made of wood used for centuries in Brazil and on the other hand because it is distinguished by its modular character.
Jose Zanine Caldas (1919-2001) Table à base triple et modulable - Pièce unique
Estimate : 40000 / 60000 €
In October 2019, this designer's work was the subject of a monographic sale which made it possible to hold very fine auctions such as this Dining Table auctioned for more than 110,000 euros, twice above its high estimate or this Console which found buyers for more than 45,000 euros.
