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Jorge Zalszupin Folding Desk by L'atelier Brazil 1959

About the Item

Folding desk designed by Jorge Zalszupin and manufactured by his own company L’Atelier, Brazil 1959. As Zalszupin gained more and more momentum with his practice during the early and mid-fifties, he started working with architect Oscar Niemeyer to do commissioned projects for the new capital of Brasilia, which was the perfect opportunity to implement his design language. These folding desks are part of a series of desks that belonged to ESAF – Escola de Administração Fazendária, or School of Farm Administration which was extinguished in January 2019 and incorporated into the Ministry of Economy. ESAF was incorporated into ENAP - National School of Public Administration, and in this process, it was decided to maintain more current furniture, already used by ENAP. The original labels are still on most of the desk tables. The entire desk is covered with Rosewood patchwork veneer and has a centre slat wrapped in black leatherette. The slat provides stability when folded open and locked into place and also makes it possible to fold the desk easily when folded down. This patchwork finishing was the characteristic feature of Zalszupins work; the collage using several pieces of sheets of jacaranda wood, with different tones, in the composition of panels from the desk. This was an initiative for the rationalization and use of left-over scraps of wood available at the factory, allowing, at the same time a combination of their different colourings. Most desks have the original L’Atelier sticker on the underside of the tabletop. Have a look at the 360* video tour from the Jorge Zalszupin exhibition > Video tour Provenance; School of Farm Administration, an organ of the Brazilian Ministry of Finance, Brasilia 1959.

Creator:

Jorge Zalszupin (Designer)

Dimensions:

Height: 28.75 in (73 cm)Width: 51.58 in (131 cm)Depth: 31.5 in (80 cm)

Style:

Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)

Materials and Techniques:

Faux Leather,Rosewood

Place of Origin:

Brazil

Period:

1950-1959

Date of Manufacture:

1959

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use.

Seller Location:

Roosendaal, NL

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU933031377712

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Shop All Jorge Zalszupin

Jorge Zalszupin

Just as emigrant Europeans — from Kem Weber and Paul Frankl to Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe — helped establish modernist design and architecture in the United States, so too did many of their peers foster the new design aesthetic in Brazil in the middle decades of the 20th century. Along with architect Lina Bo Bardi (from Italy) and Joaquim Tenreiro (from Portugal) — both of whom helped popularize Brazilian modern design and influenced today's generation of Brazilian designers — there was Jorge Zalszupin, who arrived from Poland in 1949 and created consistently sleek and elegant chairs, tables and case pieces using the South American country’s vibrantly grained tropical hardwoods.

Zalszupin was born in Warsaw (his given first name is Jerzy) and went on to study architecture at the École des Beaux Arts in Bucharest, Romania, graduating in 1945. Zalszupin moved to Paris but found few opportunities in the postwar City of Light. He was impressed by articles on the work of Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer that he saw in the André Bloc–edited magazine L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui (Architecture Today). And after sailing to South America, Zalszupin went to work with his fellow Pole and architect Luciano Korngold in São Paulo. Zalszupin began designing furniture as part of his architectural commissions and created several pieces for Niemeyer for use in the new capital city, Brasília. He opened his own design and manufacturing firm, L’Atelier, in 1959.

While Zalszupin cannot be said to have had a signature style, his furniture designs all share a characteristic simplicity and purity of line and form. His work is often compared to that of Danish designers, most especially in their shared commitment to quality construction. He was a master of many materials: travertine marble for tabletops, slung leather for seating, man-made fabrics for upholstery and — his forte — highly figured woods such as jacaranda and rosewood. The latter plays prominently in two of Zalszupin’s best-known lounge chairs: the Brasiliana, with its austere, angular wood frame, and the Presidencial, with its curved seating shell and slatted backrest. Both chairs feature deep cushions and generous proportions in deference to the Brazilian proclivity for long and languid conversations. Yet both pieces — like all Zalszupin designs — possess a striking, tailored grace that would be perfect in any environment.

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