Campana Brothers Select: Works from the Permanent Collection
https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18187961/
Pergolesi, an Italian designer who spent much of the 1780s in London, created engravings that influenced Italian and English furniture makers. His designs featured fantastic animal-like creatures mixed with a classical vocabulary. This chair was a gift of Countess Costantini, a Hewitt friend who collected and sold antique Italian furniture in New York.
The rustic furniture trade grew in the Catskill mountains because of access to an abundance of suitable natural materials. The work required only basic tools—saws, clippers, penknives, hammers, and measures. The dramatically curved profile of this chair shows the sophistication and skill of its maker while revealing the natural qualities of the wood.
Katagami, the stencils used in the Japanese resist-dye process katazome to produce printed textiles, typically feature abstract motifs drawn from nature, traditional folklore, and literature. The curving, rhythmic lines shown here convey moving water. The simplicity of the design belies the laborious process of carving the stencil.
Trained as a cabinetmaker, Wenzel Friedrich immigrated to the U.S. in 1853, settling in San Antonio, Texas. In 1880, he realized the potential of the Texan stockyards’ plentiful supply of steer horns for use in furniture design. It is likely Friedrich was inspired by furniture he had seen in Europe where antlers and other emblems of the hunt were used as decor as early as the 15th century. Friedrich’s longhorn furniture fulfilled the Victorian fancy for the unusual, as well as symbolized the Wild West. Heating the horn made the material pliable, allowing Friedrich to create exagerated curves for his pieces.
For the brothers Fernando and Humberto Campana, startling materials are a hallmark of their practice. Often evoking the rich street-market culture of their native Brazil, they utilize quotidian elements in unexpected ways, such as cord for the opulent pile upholstery of this Vermelha chair.
The designers who created this chair from a collection of discarded objects produced an intriguing design while reminding us that nothing need be wasted.
