campana brothers: barocco rococo

campana brothers: barroco rococó les arts décoratifs, paris on now until february 24, 2013

the work of fernando and humberto campana is deeply rooted in the culture and craft of their home country brazil. not afraid to define their creative practice as lying somewhere on the edge of ‘kitsch’ with a touch of ‘regionalism’, they utilize materials and forms which result in pieces which hint to the arte povera movement, while encompassing the essence of hard core industrial design manufacturing. their ‘barocco rococó’ is a series of 11 furniture prototypes composed of lamps, chandeliers, tables and seating which are assemblages of elements influenced and derived from the sculpture produced in the baroque and rococo periods. a sense of luxury and craftsmanship is conveyed through the detailed filigree work which supports each piece of this collection, the main decorative elements of each motif having been cast from gilt bronze portraying figures and imagery reminiscent of the iconographic drawings of the 17th and 18th centuries.

for this body of work, the campana brothers looked to the architecture of francesco borromini, the sculptures of bernini and the frescoes of pietro da cortona of historical rome, and wanted to take the opportunity to pay tribute to the baroque art of their own country of origin. the parts of ‘barocco rococó’ have all been molded in a roman workshop which specializes in bronze and marble work using the purest traditions of jewelry craft techniques, produced in a limited edition series, which together form an assemblage of figures, creating a personal allegory, and expressesing their endless imagination.

‘the real luxury is that of having the opportunity to work on projects that make prototypes without having to meet the requirements of the industry.’ – fernando and humberto campana

‘settimio’ cabinet features a bamboo shell image © designboom

bamboo bronze detail image © designboom

the arrangement of the bamboo sticks allows light to cast itself within the cabinet image © designboom

‘torquinio’ sofa image © designboom

the sofa’s filigree gilt bronze frame depicts imagery of flora, musical instruments, heavenly figures… image © designboom

the pieces are molded in a roman workshop image © designboom

‘anhanguera’ sofa image © designboom

the figurines represented in each of the pieces also hold personal meaning to the brothers, making reference to their country of origin image © designboom