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Brazilian Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures

BRAZILIAN FURNITURE

More often than not, vintage mid-century Brazilian furniture designs, with their gleaming wood, soft leathers and inviting shapes, share a sensuous, unique quality that distinguishes them from the more rectilinear output of American and Scandinavian makers of the same era.

Commencing in the 1940s and '50s, a group of architects and designers transformed the local cultural landscape in Brazil, merging the modernist vernacular popular in Europe and the United States with the South American country's traditional techniques and indigenous materials.

Key mid-century influencers on Brazilian furniture design include natives Oscar NiemeyerSergio Rodrigues and José Zanine Caldas as well as such European immigrants as Joaquim TenreiroJean Gillon and Jorge Zalszupin. These creators frequently collaborated; for instance, Niemeyer, an internationally acclaimed architect, commissioned many of them to furnish his residential and institutional buildings.

The popularity of Brazilian modern furniture has made household names of these designers and other greats. Their particular brand of modernism is characterized by an émigré point of view (some were Lithuanian, German, Polish, Ukrainian, Portuguese, and Italian), a preference for highly figured indigenous Brazilian woods, a reverence for nature as an inspiration and an atelier or small-production mentality.

Hallmarks of Brazilian mid-century design include smooth, sculptural forms and the use of native woods like rosewoodjacaranda and pequi. The work of designers today exhibits many of the same qualities, though with a marked interest in exploring new materials (witness the Campana Brothers' stuffed-animal chairs) and an emphasis on looking inward rather than to other countries for inspiration.

Find a collection of vintage Brazilian furniture on 1stDibs that includes chairssofastables and more.

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Place of Origin: Brazilian
Pietrina Checcacci Brazilian Modern Kinetic Copper Sculpture on Granite Base
By Pietrina Checcacci
Located in Miami, FL
Mid-Century Brazilian modern kinetic copper sculpture on black granite base by Italian-Brazilian artist Pietrina Checcacci, 1970s.
Category

Late 20th Century Modern Brazilian Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures

Materials

Granite, Copper

Abraham Palatnik. Op Art Cat Sculpture in Polyester Resin 1970's
By Abraham Palatnik
Located in Sao Paulo, SP
Huge Brazilian modern kinetic sculpture made of acrylic resin designed by Abraham Palatnik, part of Artemis Collection made in the 1970's. This is the biggest version of the aforemen...
Category

1970s Kinetic Vintage Brazilian Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures

Materials

Resin, Acrylic

Abraham Palatnik. Elephant, c. 1960
By Abraham Palatnik
Located in PARIS, FR
Kinetic art - Beautiful and rare polyester resin sculpture from the HOME AND FARM collection representing an elephant signed in the base. c. 1960. This sculpture is part of the seri...
Category

Mid-20th Century Kinetic Brazilian Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures

Materials

Acrylic

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Pair of Midcentury Lucite Giraffe Sculptures by Abraham Palatnik
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Vintage 1960s Abraham Palatnik Lucite Acrylic Owl
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Vintage 1960s Abraham Palatnik Lucite Acrylic Owl
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Abraham Palatnik, Bird, Kinetic Sculpture in Acrylic Resin, Brazil, circa 1960
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Located in PARIS, FR
Abraham Palatnik (1928-2020) Bird Sculpture, circa 1960 Polyester resin and pigments. Measures: (21.5 x 9.5 x 2.5 cm) This Polyester resin sculpture representing a bird, in the colors yellow and black It is part of the series of animal sculptures that Abraham Palatnik made from the 1960s, in small format, they are small jewels of kinetic art, a movement that Palatnik was one of the pioneers. "Born in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, in 1928 to a family of Russian Jews, Palatnik moved with his family to Tel Aviv (then Palestine) when he was four years old. He attended Montefiori Technical School, where he specialized in internal combustion engines, and studied art under the tutelage of the painter Haaron Avni and the sculptor Sternshus at the Municipal Institute of Art. When he returned to Brazil in 1948, his output consisted mainly of figurative and landscape paintings and charcoal drawings. However, his encounters with the complex works made by schizophrenic patients at the Pedro II Psychiatric Hospital, where he taught painting workshops alongside Almir Mavignier...
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Palatnik Midcentury Op Art Lucite Rabbit
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A Mid-Century Modern lucite Op Art rabbit sculpture by Abraham Palatnik. Original label on bottom: Made in Brazil. Abraham Palatnik (1928-2020) is a Brazilian artist and inventor who...
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Palatnik Midcentury Op Art Lucite Rabbit
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French Midcentury Granite Bust on Wood Base, Signed
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Abraham Palatnik, lucite large Heron, Brazil, c.1970.
By Abraham Palatnik
Located in Pymble, NSW
A large Palatnik lucite Heron in black, signed in the piece, ‘Pal’. In excellent condition from the 1970’s. It retains its paper label ‘ Made in Brazil.
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1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures

Materials

Lucite

Abraham Palatnik, Elephant, Kinetic Sculpture in Acrylic Resin, Brazil, C. 1960
By Abraham Palatnik
Located in PARIS, FR
Abraham Palatnik (1928-2020) Sculpture "Elephant", c. 1960 Vintage label (made in Brazil). Polyester resin and pigment in black. Kinetic art - Beautiful and rare polyester resin sculpture from the HOME AND FARM collection representing an elephant signed in the base. This sculpture is part of the series of animal sculptures that Abraham Palatnik made from the 1960s, in small format, they are small jewels of kinetic art, a movement of which he was one of the pioneers. "Born in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, in 1928 to a family of Russian Jews, Palatnik moved with his family to Tel Aviv (then Palestine) when he was four years old. He attended Montefiori Technical School, where he specialized in internal combustion engines, and studied art under the tutelage of the painter Haaron Avni and the sculptor Sternshus at the Municipal Institute of Art. When he returned to Brazil in 1948, his output consisted mainly of figurative and landscape paintings and charcoal drawings. However, his encounters with the complex works made by schizophrenic patients at the Pedro II Psychiatric Hospital, where he taught painting workshops alongside Almir Mavignier and Ivan Serpa, caused him to abandon his early approach to traditional image-making: “I decided to start all over from scratch,” Palatnik said. “The discipline from the school, the studio, was no longer of any use.” Freed from the perceived restrictions of his training, Palatnik became closely associated with Grupo Frente, a movement started by Serpa and rooted in geometric abstraction. He used his knowledge of engineering and mechanics as well as his interest in natural forces to build his first Kinechromatic work. Titled Azul e roxo em seu primeiro movimento (Blue and Purple in First Movement), 1949, the piece debuted at the inaugural São Paulo Bienal in 1951. “In reality, it was luck that got me into the biennial,” Palatnik said in a 1986 interview. “At first, my machine was rejected, because it wasn’t a painting, a sculpture, a drawing, or a print.” The piece, which eventually gained entry, shocked the biennial’s grand prize jury, who gave Palatnik an honorable mention, calling his work an “important manifestation of modern art.” By 1969, he had participated in seven more editions of the international exhibition. Palatnik would also present work in the 1964 Venice Biennale, the 1966 Biennial of Córdoba, and the 1997 and 2005 editions of the Mercosul Biennial. His art was featured in significant exhibitions on kinetic art, including “Mouvement 2” (1964) at Denise René gallery in Paris; “Lumière, Mouvement et Optique” (1965) at the Brussels Palace of Fine Arts; “Kinetic Art” (1966) at the Museum of San Francisco; and, more recently, “Delirious: Art at the Limits of Reason, 1950–1980” (2017) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and “The Other Trans-Atlantic: Kinetic & Op Art in Central & Eastern Europe and Latin America 1950s–1970s” (2018) at Sesc Pinheiros in São Paulo. A major retrospective, “Abraham Palatnik—The Reinvention of Painting,” was staged at several venues across Brazil, including the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro (2017); the Fundação Iberê...
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Mid-20th Century Kinetic Brazilian Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures

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This Brazilian modern sculpture was designed by Abraham Palatinik and made in the 1960s. It is a part of the Artemis collection that features hundreds of different animals, each with sleek, flat silhouettes. The goldfish sculpture...
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1970s Brazilian Abraham Palatnik Acrylic Cockerel
By Abraham Palatnik
Located in London, England
1970s acrylic multicolored cockerel by Brazilian artist Abraham Palatnik. An op art design with Kinetic lines throughout and signed on the lower back by the artist. This vintage i...
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Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures

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Lucite

1970s Brazilian Lucite Kinetic White Swan Designed by Abraham Palatnik
By Abraham Palatnik
Located in London, England
1970s acrylic white swan by Brazilian artist Abraham Palatnik. An op art design with Kinetic lines running throughout this unusual and collectable piece. This vintage item is in ...
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1950s Brazilian Abraham Palatnik Acrylic Owl
By Abraham Palatnik
Located in London, England
1950s acrylic black and white owl by Brazilian artist Abraham Palatnik. An op art design with Kinetic black lines which give the optical illusion that the owl is always looking at yo...
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Medium "Chains" Sculpture by RAIN, Brazilian Contemporary Design
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Located in New York, NY
Designed by RAIN, "Chains" is composed of three different-sized sculptures produced in stainless steel by artisans from Sao Bernardo neighborhood in Sao Paulo. The medium Sculpture i...
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2010s Brazilian Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures

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Large "Chains" Sculpture by Rain, Brazilian Contemporary Design
By RAIN
Located in New York, NY
Designed by RAIN, "Chains" is composed of three different-sized sculptures produced in stainless steel by artisans from Sao Bernardo neighborhood in Sao Paulo. The large Sculpture is...
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2010s Brazilian Mobiles and Kinetic Sculptures

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Stainless Steel

Small "Chains" Sculpture by Rain, Brazilian Contemporary Design
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Located in New York, NY
Designed by Rain, "Chains" is composed of three different-sized sculptures produced in stainless steel by artisans from Sao Bernardo neighbourhood in Sao Paulo. The small sculpture i...
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