Curva Chair Joaquim Tenreiro

Curva chair by Joaquim Tenreiro, 1960s, mid-century Brazilian design. Brought from my in-laws' house in Brasilia. It is signed underneath. This curved rosewood chair with a stick back, designed by Joaquim Tenreiro (1906-1992) in 1961/1962, evokes the refined coexistence of traditional values and a modern aesthetic. Its delicate forms, with thin stick backs and sculpted, pointed legs, like those of a ballerina, give the impression that the piece is floating in space. Tenreiro came to believe that the often heavy and overloaded pieces that dominated the market were incompatible with a tropical country like Brazil. He promoted formally light furniture, as he himself described it: "Lightness, which has nothing to do with weight per se, but with grace and functionality in space.".