Sergio Rodrigues: Set of 4 Cuiaba Dining Chairs in Caviona and Hide, Brazil 1985

Sergio Rodrigues (1927–2014)

A set of four Cuiaba dining chairs by Brazilian design pioneer Sergio Rodrigues, in caviona wood upholstered in cream-colored cowhide. The chairs’ geometric form rests on a pair of rectangular legs, the construction and angles of which are echoed throughout the chairs’ design. The back, perfectly angled for comfort and support, is supported by two planks which extend into the base, providing structural integrity but visual lightness.

Dubbed the father of Brazilian furniture, Rodrigues, alongside Joaquim Tenreiro and José Zanine Caldas, spearheaded the country’s ascent as a force for innovative, avant-guard modernism that highlighted indigenous materials and infused the movement’s sometimes impersonal utilitarianism with warmth and dynamism.