R & company presents rare furniture pieces by jose zanine

from now until june 23, 2016, new york gallery R & company presents an exhibition of historical furniture pieces by brazilian designer jose zanine. the rare and one-of-a-kind works employ tropical woods from the 20th century to create a range of innovative sculptural forms, many of which have never been publicly presented before. alongside this exhibition, a solid tree trunk lounge chair made from brazilian hardwood is presented at collective design fair, part of new york design week 2016.

the rare and one-of-a-kind works employ tropical woods from the 20th century
all images by joe kramm / R & company

zanine began his career in 1948 with the company móveis artisticos Z, which he ran with three business partners. the firm’s elegantly simple, organically-shaped pieces in plywood were produced at a price point that made them accessible to the emerging market of collectors with an eye toward a modern style. their designs were among the first in brazil to utilize new techniques for molded and bent plywood that were also being used by international designers such as charles and ray eames in the united states and, in europe, by alvar aalto.

many of the pieces have never been publicly presented before

in the early 1950s, zanine left the company and returned to his home state of bahia. while there, he became inspired by local craftsmen who carved boats and furniture from fallen trees. zanine began experimenting with chiseling and carving large, sculptural works, which became the focus of his later career. as a proponent of environmental protection, he wrote extensively about his philosophical and emotional connection to the forest and tried, whenever possible, to either use already felled trees or to plant a tree for each one he used.

the exhibition remains on display in R & company’s upper gallery until june 23, 2016.

zanine was inspired by local craftsmen who carved boats and furniture from fallen trees