The Campana Brothers were among Brazil’s foremost contemporary furniture designers. Inspired by their country’s vernacular culture, Humberto and Fernando Campana (b. 1953; 1961–2022) combined everyday objects in unexpected ways — often waste materials like rope, cardboard, plastic tubing, and aluminum wire — to make their singular chairs, decor, lighting and other items. Their designs have been manufactured by such companies as Alessi, Swarovski and Cappellini. And they received numerous honors, including being named Designer of the Year both at Design Miami in 2008, and by Maison & Objet in Paris in 2012.
Humberto Campana was born in Rio Claro in 1953 and earned a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of São Paulo. Fernando was born in 1961 in Brotas, and graduated from the São Paulo School of Fine Arts with a bachelor’s degree in architecture.
The Campana brothers started working together in 1983, crafting furniture using their signature method of adaptive reuse. Their pieces frequently refer to Brazilian social and cultural traditions and entities. Among these are the country’s favelas, or shantytowns, that have grown up around major cities. An homage to the resourcefulness with which the residents of São Paulo’s favelas make use of the materials at hand, repurposing cast-off objects in ingenious designs and constructions, their Favela armchair is made of cast-off strips of wood (the first one was made from discarded slats from a fruit market), which are glued and nailed together seemingly at random. The end result, however, is a compact, solid and well-proportioned chair.
By 1997, some of the Campanas’ pieces were being produced and sold in Italy, including the Edra Vermelha armchair, constructed of cord handwoven around a steel frame. In 1998, the brothers became the first Brazilian designers to have their work exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Today their furniture is included in MoMA’s permanent collection and in those of numerous other major institutions, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Vitra Design Museum.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of Campana Brothers armchairs, case pieces and other furniture.
Alligator Gold Campana Brothers Armchair
By Fernando and Humberto Campana
Located in Paris, FR
Armchair Alligator Gold Campana Brothers all in leather gold, this piece is a part of the Brazilian Baroque Collection, it has been designed in 2011 by...
Leather
Crocodile Bench Made of Wicker with Iron Structure in Brown Tone
Located in Marbella, ES
Crocodile Bench Made of Wicker with Iron Structure in Brown Tone
Iron
Crocodile Bench Made of Wicker with Iron Structure in Natural Tone
Located in Marbella, ES
Crocodile Bench Made of Wicker with Iron Structure in Natural Tone
Iron
Cayman Coffee Table with Alligator Skin and Zebu Horns
Located in Paris, FR
Coffee table Cayman with handcrafted wood structure. Covered with alligator skin and tail. Feet in wood and zebu horns. Details and nails in bronze. Exceptional piece on request. ...
Bronze
$12,637 / item
H 12.6 in W 16.15 in D 89.77 in
Alligator Cocodril Outdoor Furniture by Bussoga, Steel & Ceramic
By Bussoga
Located in Barcelona, ES
Alligator by Bussoga – Modern Outdoor Furniture in Steel and Artisan Ceramic Tiles ‘Cocodril’ (Crocodile) is a sculptural furniture piece from the acclaimed Enrrajolats animal colle...
Stainless Steel
$7,697
H 39.38 in W 23.63 in D 23.63 in
Zhou Yilun Contemporary Chinese Design Chair from the Series "Animal chairs"
By Zhou Yilun
Located in Barcelona, ES
Zhou Yilun Chair from the series "Animal Chairs" Contemporary Chinese chair Manufactured by R3PM3 Hangzhou (China), 2021 High density foam, PU coating Measurements: 60 cm x 60 cm x 100 H cm 23.62 in x 23.62 in x 39.37 H in Edition Unique piece Zhou Yilun (b. 1983, Hangzhou, China) lives and works in Hangzhou. Zhou graduated in 2006 from the oil painting department at China Academy of Art. His works are formed from a bricolage of identity, as he lifts and distorts techniques inherited from the Renaissance, Baroque, and Romantic eras—revisiting, perverting, and parodying their ideas for the new globalist regime. He has recently exhibited at the KWM artcenter in Beijing, China (2018), appearing in The Post Southern Song Dynasty...
Acrylic, Foam
Twentieth Century custom mahogany and faux alligator bench
Located in Winnetka, IL
A handsome custom mahogany bench reupholstered with rich navy blue faux alligator leather ;having cross stretchers and silver nail head trim . Perfect for the end of the bed or pull ...
Leather, Mahogany
Poltronova SAFARI Sofa by Archizoom Associati
By Poltronova, Archizoom Associati
Located in Brooklyn, NY
The Safari sofa is a multiple seat with the profile of the backrest shaped like a series of waves, one gathers in the central void, accessed through an opening, as in a sort of tribal ritual. The piece of furniture consists of four pieces of two different types [two armchair modules and two sofa modules]. The Safari sofa was put into production for the first time by Poltronova in 1968. The experimental fibreglass technique was used for the structure. For the seat and backrest upholstery, Archizoom chose a printed animal pattern fabric with a Leopard print. The same pattern is used for the polyurethane foam rug placed between the seats. The choice of the leopard pattern was a cultured reference to the work “Bedroom ensemble” [1963] by Claes Oldenburg, master of English Pop Art, and his subsequent “Leopard chair...
Fiberglass
Freeform Sculptural Organic Modern Wood Sofa Bench
Located in Chattanooga, TN
A striking fusion of nature and design, this sculptural sofa is crafted from solid, organically shaped wood, preserving the raw curvature, knots, and expressive grain of the original...
Hardwood
Decorative crocodile-shaped bench Mexico, ca. 1960
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Circa 1960, We offer this antique bench carved from a single solid wood log, depicting an elongated and expressive crocodile. This piece is a remarkable example of mid-20th-century M...
Wood
Andrea Branzi "Domestici Animali" Settee
By Andrea Branzi
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Italy: Andrea Branzi painted wood, birch and lime log settee from "Domestici Animali" 2008, signed and numbered 1 of 8
Wood, Birch
Chinese Carved Dragon Armchair
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Chinese Carved Dragon Armchair
Wood
The Vertebre Rib Chair by Pierre Vandel
By Pierre Vandel
Located in Los Angeles, CA
lounge chair upholstered in brown suede w/aluminum base
Suede
Harush Shlomo Aluminum Sculpture
By Shlomo Harush
Located in Los Angeles, CA
"Untitled" sculpture by Harush Shlomo, Israel, 2005, with unique incised signature and date.
Aluminum
'Spider" Dining Table by Greta Grossman
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Greta Grossman drop-leaf "Spider" dining table, 1950s.
Wood
Tejo Remy Rag Chair, 1991
By Tejo Remy
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Tejo Remy (Dutch b. 1960) Rag Chair 1991.
Metal
Combining unexpected materials with out-there ideas, the Brazilian talents have created icons of modern design.
In Los Angeles, dealer Joel Chen gives the often clever and always versatile seats some long-overdue attention.
