On Exhibit: Jean Prouvé and the Campana Brothers

THE CAMPANA BROTHERS TIMES THREE
The Brazilian-born brothers Fernando and Humberto Campana were trained as an architect and a lawyer, respectively, but have worked together as designers for the past thirty years. They use common (and more recently, extravagant) materials in uncommon ways to create extraordinary pieces of high design that explore issues ranging from poverty (in particular, life in the Brazilian favelas) to globalization. Three early summer exhibitions in London, Paris, and New York look at their recent work. Brazilian Baroque ending on June 15 at London’s David Gill Galleries features works that weld together metal objects and ornaments, while a longer-running exhibition featuring the brothers’ specially commissioned Ocean collection (an evolution of their renowned Sushi series) will run through July 27 at Carpenters Workshop in Paris.

In New York, Friedman Benda Gallery will give the duo their much overdue first solo show in the United States. Campana Brothers: Concepts will run through July 5 and feature new work designed for this exhibition including Boca (Portuguese for “mouth”) chairs and a screen in cowhide; the Racket collection of chairs and a screen in bent brass; the bent-steel Fitas (Portuguese for “stripe”) series; and the Ametista collection of glass panels incorporating amethyst rocks from São Paulo. Perhaps most notably, Concepts will also include a new version of the stuffed-toy Banquetes, this one made from stuffed alligators.

davidgillgalleries.com/
carpentersworkshopgallery.com /
friedmanbenda.com /