Joaquim Tenreiro (1906–1992) was among the leading

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

designers and

visual artists The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

in mid-20th century

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Tenreiro was born in Melo,

Gouveia Municipality, Portugal Gouveia () is a city and a municipality in the district of Guarda (district), Guarda in Portugal. The municipality population in 2011 was 14,046, in an area of . The town itself has a very small population, around 3.500. The present mayor is Luis ...

into a family of

woodworkers Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials ...

and

carpenters Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters tra ...

. In the late 1920s, he emigrated to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

and began working for the firm of Laubisch Hirth. In the early 1940s, Tenreiro was among the first designers in the Brazilian furniture industry to adopt a European

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

vernacular. His initial efforts, including the 1942 "Poltrona Leve," met with considerable success, and in 1943 he established his own firm with factories in Rio de Janeiro and

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

. One of his main clients was Brazilian architect

Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was ...

, for whose houses a number of pieces were originally commissioned. Taking advantage of

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

Brazilian

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

s and designing with the Brazilian climate in mind by keeping pieces light, and often using

wicker Wicker is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as 5,000 years ago. It was first documented in ancient Egypt using pliable plant material, but in modern times it is made from any pliable, easily woven material. ...

cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking *Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance *White cane, a mobility or safety device used by many people who are b ...

, Tenreiro evolved a distinctive style suited to local conditions. His 1947 "Cadeira de Embalo" (Rocking Chair) is still in production. An example of his iconic "three-legged chair" sold at auction in 2008 for over US$90,000.Invaluable: Joaquim Tenreiro Auction Price Results
/ref> Tenreiro gave up the furniture business in the late 1960s to concentrate on his

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, in which he had been engaged privately for many decades. He died in

Itapira Itapira is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 75,234 (2020 est.) in an area of 518 km². The elevation is 643 m. History From the eighteenth century, there were already some residents in the region, whose ...

, Brazil, aged 86.

References

External links

Biography on "R Gallery"

Exhibitions (catalogues)

*''Joaquim Tenreiro: esculpinturas'', Galeria Bonino, (Rio de Janeiro 1975). *''Ascânio MMM; Ronaldo do Rego Macedo; João Fortes Engenharia: Joaquim Tenreiro: madeira/arte e design'', Galeria de Arte do Centro Empresarial Rio, (Rio de Janeiro 1985). *''Tenreiro: Soraia Cals; André Seffrin; Maria Cecília Loschiavo dos Santos; Mário Grisolli'', Bolsa de Arte do Rio de Janeiro (1998). {{DEFAULTSORT:Tenreiro, Joaquim Brazilian furniture designers 1906 births 1992 deaths Portuguese emigrants to Brazil People from Gouveia, Portugal