Jose Zanine Caldas, Brazil, 1963-7
From the 1960s onwards, Jose Zanine Caldas incorporated scraps from deforestation to create what he called “Protest Furniture.” For his iconic masterwork, the “Namoradeira,” or “Tete-a-Tete,” Zanine uses a large section of a felled tree to translate the nineteenth-century French form into the twentieth-century Brazilian design lexicon. Though Zanine carved the “dating chair” from a massive log, the rounded base allows the users to rock back and forth, reinforcing the light, social function of the piece.
"Namoradeira" tête-à-tête lounge chair. Designed and made by José Zanine Caldas, Brazil, circa 1963-67.
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