Marking Estúdio Campana’s first major exhibition in Asia, the São Paulo-based studio, in conjunction with the power station of DESIGN (psD) at the Power Station of Art (PSA), is “Impermanence” – 40 Years of Estúdio Campana. The vibrant exhibition is being held until September 8, 2024, in Shanghai, China.
Co-founded in 1984 by brothers Fernando (1961-2022) and Humberto (1953) Campana, the Campana Studio is recognized as a pioneer of disruptive design, firmly rooted in Brazilian culture and traditions, with a groundbreaking language. The Studio has worked with Louis Vuitton among other brands and designers.
Co-curated by Marco Sammicheli, Curator for Design, Fashion, Crafts, and Director Museo del Design Italiano at the Triennale Milano, and Gong Yan, Director of PSA; Scenography design by the studio co-founder Humberto Campana; graphic design by Maru Widen, the exhibition seeks to highlight the cultural production of the studio through objects, projects, drawings, and works that best summarize the history, trajectories, and insights of the practice.
The exhibition will showcase over 50 groundbreaking pieces that symbolize and unearth the history of thoughts and actions that have anticipated artistic movements, design solutions, and compelling reflections on the coexistence of human beings and nature.
With the aim to display four decades worth of studio production to the Chinese audience, a Cabinet of Curiosities will proffer visitors an invitation into the Campanas’ world of inferences from childhood to the beginning of the brothers’ careers, comprising never-before displayed personal objects, original drawings, and prototypes.
Talking about the Campana brothers’ creations, Gong Yan, says, “Their unique employment of materials and craftsmanship gives their design a quality of physical tactility that transcends mere functionality, embodying both an extension and a celebration of life itself. This exhibition also hopes to initiate a series of discussions on design, materials, traditions, and social concern.”
The main hall will feature three thematic stances that have been designed by the curators: a manual act, which encompasses artisanal knowledge, manufacturing, and material inquiry; an expressive act which instigates an intimate thought and makes it cumulative by morphing genres, types, and techniques honoring hybrid and organic matter; and a political act which invigorates communities, disseminate knowledge, and revitalizes a region.
Giving life to the curator’s vision and a reference to Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”, Humberto Campana has crafted a captivating installation of artificial stalactites and stalagmites. The idea is to allow visitors to roam freely and explore the art works, as they emerge from behind the organic-shaped columns, similar to a game of hide-and-seek.
Talking about their inspiration, Humberto Campana recalls, “I wanted to combine the curators’ work with a child-like experience, which for me is the most accurate way of explaining how my brother and I trailblazed through life…Plato’s classic allegory is something we can all relate to, at any age or background. I like to think we are all born curious…”
