Joaquim Tenreiro - Design New York Wednesday, December 17, 2014 | Phillips

Design

New York Auction 17 December 2014 11am

  • Provenance

    Sonia Schainberg, São Paulo, Brazil, commissioned directly from the artist, 1960s
    Galeria Luisa Strina, São Paulo, Brazil
    Acquired from the above by the present owner, 2006

  • Literature

    Ronaldo do Rego Macedo, Ascânio MMM, Joaquim Tenreiro: Madeira/Arte e Design, Rio de Janeiro, 1995, p. 120 for a similar example
    Soraia Cals, Tenreiro, Rio de Janeiro, 1998, p. 54, 91, 137 for similar examples

  • Catalogue Essay

    A trained painter and son of a cabinetmaker, Joaquim Tenreiro began designing furniture in the 1940s. By 1943 he had started his own furniture design company, opening offices in Rio de Janeiro and Copacabana, and, due to the increasing success of his designs, he opened another shop in 1953 in São Paolo. By the end of the 1950s, Tenreiro was employing about 100 craftsmen to construct his designs. The success of the business was evident among Brazilians, but the recognition and growing size of the company led to turmoil, resulting in its closing in the 1960s. Tenreiro turned his focus back to art, though with an emphasis on sculpting wood, using the same distinctly modern design sensibilities in these works as he had with his furniture, earning him the title Sculptor of the Year in 1978 by the Association of Art Crititics of Paulista, São Paolo. Among the greatest of the Brazilian modernist designers, his work was defined by the structural simplicity and brilliant engineering evidenced in the present screen.

    The present lot is one of two known examples of this particular screen design; both were privately commissioned by their respective owners, Sonia Schainberg and her sister.

PROPERTY FROM A NEW YORK COLLECTION

Σ222

Joaquim Tenreiro

Rare screen, for a private commission, São Paulo, Brazil

1960s
Jacaranda.
63 1/4 in. (160.7 cm) high, variable length and width

Estimate
$50,000 - 70,000 

Sold for $56,250

Contact Specialist
Meaghan Roddy
Head of Sale
New York
+ 1 212 940 1266

Design

New York Auction 17 December 2014 11am