On the occasion of its next Brazilian Design auction, on December 10th, 2020, the PIASA will highlight the work of one of the icons who left a deep impression on the modern history of his country by offering for sale numerous pieces created by Jose Zanine Caldas.
Born in the province of Bahia, this artist began his career in Sao Paolo, where he became a professor of urban planning and architecture at the university before settling in Rio de Janeiro in 1942.
In the mid-1950s, he returned to his native region, which was partly covered by the Amazonian forest. This return to nature had a profound influence on the shapes and materials of his pieces, which combined elegance with the ecological awareness that was then avant-gardist. Using materials from deforestation, the designer creates organic forms.
A figurehead of Brazilian modernity alongside architects Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012) and Lucio Costa (1902-1998), he has been the subject of a real craze in recent years from both international collectors and the general public.
Halfway between sculpture and design, José Zanine Caldas' itinerary takes pleasure in thwarting the rigid boundaries between the disciplines. The sculptural chair (Lot 2) presented during this session embodies the way its author handles it. Created in 1977, it is composed - like the vast majority of its corpus - of pequi wood.
José Zanine Caldas (1919-2001)
Sculptural armchair
Estimate: 8000 / 12000
Pequi wood forms a large part of the Brazilian Cerrados and plays an important role in the culture of this country as a tree whose pulp can be used as an aroma.
The Sofa de Troncos (Lot 3), carved from two pieces of a single trunk, demonstrates the extent to which the memory of the material is left visible in the work of this exceptional designer. This piece of furniture is mentioned in the book by Maria Cecilia Loschiavo dos Santos Modern furniture in Brazil published in 2015. Its estimate of between 80,000 and 120,000 euros shows how much the designer is appreciated by the public and also by Brazilian and international collectors.
José Zanine Caldas (1919-2001)
Sofa de Troncos
Estimate: 80000 / 120000 €
A self-taught designer, he transforms wood into magnificent pieces of furniture with a raw and sensual character. His works are characterised by a quality that is both organic and sculptural, playing on the curves and cracks in the wood he uses. The dining room table, a unique piece, made of solid pequi wood is representative of this always spontaneous and direct creativity.
José Zanine Caldas (1919-2001)
Dining table
Estimate : 80000 / 120000 €
In the 1950s Zanine Caldas worked with architects such as Oscar Niemeyer, Rino Levi and Henrique Mindlan. In 1989, an exhibition of design and architecture was dedicated to him at the Louvre Museum of Decorative Arts and the following year he was awarded the silver medal of the French Academy of Architecture.
