The art of magic made from leftovers

Shanghai show is largest exhibition of legendary Brazilian designers' work in Asia, He Qi reports.

From a chair pieced together out of countless dolls that has been bought by many fashion celebrities; to a chair made of broken wood blocks which inspired the design of the Brazil Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo; to another chair made by twining 500 meters of red thread around its frame which is part of the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, behind all these eye-catching pieces are the legendary design duo from Brazil — brothers Humberto and Fernando Campana.

Founded in 1984, Estudio Campana has achieved international recognition for its intriguing furniture design.

In collaboration with the power station of DESIGN at the Power Station of Art, the studio is presenting Impermanence — 40 Years of Estudio Campana in Shanghai from June 8 to Sept 8, its first large-scale exhibition in Asia.

Fifty pieces take visitors into the duo's fantasy world, tracing the history of their ideas and creations.

"This is our first large-scale exhibition in Asia, and it is a new challenge for us, as well as a new process of exploring our inner world and inner universe," says Humberto Campana, who designed the exhibition's scenography.

Marco Sammicheli, co-curator of the exhibition and the curator for Design, Fashion, Crafts at the Triennale Milano, says that Estudio Campana has demonstrated the possibility of connecting decoration and value, function and fiction, culture and nature over its 40-year career.