An exhibition on Sergio Rodrigues at Itaú Cultural presents design as a process of creation and development, as an act of thought, not merely an outcome
I visited the exhibition Sergio Estar Rodrigues at Itaú Cultural and recommend it. As its title suggests, it is devoted entirely to architect and designer Sergio Rodrigues, famous for creating the Poltrona Mole (pictured above), and the author of hundreds of other designs, including not only furniture but also architectural projects.
Curated by Daniela Thomas, Mari Stockler, Felipe Tassara and Fernando Mendes, the exhibition occupies three floors and brings together more than 500 items, including photographs, sketches, drawings, prototypes, models and furniture. These are interspersed with excerpts from texts written by Sergio Rodrigues himself or taken from his lectures and interviews.
For an exhibition with a biographical dimension, this brings visitors much closer and gives the presentation a more informal tone. For example, stories from Sergio Rodrigues’s childhood, when his uncle pursued woodworking as a hobby, introduce the public to his relationship with this material, so prominent throughout his work.
It is important to stress that the exhibition emphasizes a point highlighted in several studies by FAU-USP professor Maria Cecilia Loschiavo dos Santos: the strong relationship between Sergio Rodrigues’s work and Brazilian cultural characteristics and raw materials.
But what I find interesting in this curatorial approach is something else. Design exhibitions very commonly present objects, products and furniture. Original plans and drawings are shown less often. In this exhibition on designer Sergio Rodrigues, besides encountering the products and designs, we gain access to a true genealogy of the furniture on display.
The Poltrona Mole, for example, is revealed not only through its design and finished form but also through the sofa alongside it, whose structure anticipates some of its main features, and through a later armchair.
This shows design in its process of creation and development, as an act of thought rather than simply an outcome. Because of its relationship with the industrial chain, it is very difficult for consumers to perceive this intellectual dimension, the concepts involved, the stories behind material choices, and the connections with the historical moment in which things are created.
And a tip for those interested: anyone who wants to explore the subject further can download from the Instituto Sergio Rodrigues website the book Sergio Rodrigues, Fortuna Crítica, edited by curator Afonso Luz.
From June 9 to August 5 | Tuesday–Friday, 9 a.m.–8 p.m. [visitors may remain until 8:30 p.m.] |
Saturday, Sunday and holidays, 11 a.m.–8 p.m.
Itaú Cultural — Avenida Paulista 149, São Paulo, SP
Postal code: 01311-000 [Brigadeiro subway station]
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Photo: Casacor / publicity.