Arupemba Armchair

Brazilian furniture designer Sérgio Matos excels at capturing the spirit of his country and engaging with its Indigenous communities. Like illustrious Brazilian modern designers Sergio Rodrigues, Joaquim Tenreiro and Jorge Zalszupin, Matos creates memorable and uncommon designs. He incorporates local artisanal culture into nearly every piece, differentiating himself through this process from many other contemporary designers and dealers in urban centers like São Paulo.

Matos was born in 1976 in Mato Grosso, a region in Brazil that includes the Xingu Indigenous Park within the Amazon rainforest. He graduated with a degree in marketing from the Universidade de Cuiabá before moving to Paraíba to study design at the Federal University of Campina Grande. After his education, Matos immersed himself in the local Indigenous cultures and drew inspiration from the lively use of color at events like the maracatu nação parade in Pernambuco and one of Paraíba’s longest-running festivals, Festa de São João. 

His best-known designs feature naval rope wrapped around aluminum or steel carbon structures, like the starfruit-shaped Carambola stool. Some of his furnishings, like the dorsal-patterned Cobra Coral chair, employ this technique in tandem with the use of colors found naturally in the local environment. Designs such as the Taturana bench are more subtle; it borrows its form from the Amazonian taturana caterpillar. Some of his earlier works like the Chita swing are informed by the Indian fabrics introduced to Brazil, while others repurpose materials like saddle straps, such as the Movimento Armorial-inspired Arreio chair.

Matos has exhibited his work at Milan’s Salone del Mobile. Credited with connecting the radical designs of the Campana Brothers and fellow Brazilian designer Lina Bo Bardi to international markets, the design show likewise contributed to his worldwide acclaim. At the request of Salone curator Marva Griffin, Matos exhibited at the 2010 show, opening his studio that same year. He went on to exhibit in the show four more times, including in 2020 alongside his studio’s 10-year anniversary.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of Sérgio Matos seating, tables and garden elements.