Atelier Zanini de Zanine

Zanini de Zanine was born in 1978 in Rio de Janeiro. The son of the famous Brazilian designer José Zanine Caldas, he learnt from childhood to pay attention to materials, their properties and natural forms. He was a student of Sergio Rodrigues, one of the first Brazilian designers to capture and express the original spirit of the country in his furniture. In 2002, after graduating in design from the University of Rio de Janeiro, Zanini began producing original furniture and decorative objects under his own name. In his practice, the designer employs both natural and man-made materials, including recycled plastic, reclaimed wood and found objects. Avoiding the logging of the Brazilian rainforest, Zanini gives a second life to the wood left over from the demolition of old houses. In doing so, he echoes the approach of his father, who was one of the first contemporary designers to make sculptural furniture from wind-damaged wood found on the shores of oceans and rivers. The powerful character of the wilderness spirit inherent in his father's work is evident in Zanini de Zanine's work, which nevertheless fits convincingly into the cut stone jungle of the modern metropolis.

«I have a great interest in everything that has to do with our crafts, customs and traditions in all their different forms.»