Joaquim Tenreiro

The son of a furniture maker, Joaquim Tenreiro learned traditional wood crafting and joinery techniques in his father’s workshop but became known for breaking with tradition by developing a contemporary formal Brazilian language of design that utilized native materials. Tenreiro was born in Portugal but made Brazil his home. In 1928, he married and settled in Rio de Janeiro, where he began making furniture in traditional styles for firms such as Laubisch-Hirth. Tenreiro was also one of the founding members of the Bernardelli Group, formed in 1931 at the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes. The Bernadelli Group wanted to raise the status of art as a profession. They broke with entrenched academic conservatism... more.