See love seat made of stuffed animals in exhibit's first U.S. show at Philbrook
BY JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer
Sunday, July 15, 2012
7/15/12 at 3:18 AM
Take a length of thick red cord. Drape, twist and coil it until it becomes a chair.
Hold a handful of thin metal tubes in one fist. Let go, and use the resulting tangle of straight lines to create a sculpture.
Stitch together dozens of stuffed animal toys - lions and tigers and bears and puppies - into a kind of love seat.
These are some of the objects created over the course of the past two decades by Humberto and Fernando Campanas, two Brazilian brothers whose work has made them, to quote one critic, "two of the most stunning figures in contemporary design."
The first retrospective show of the Campanas' work, "Antibodies: Works by Fernando and Humberto Campanas 1989-2009," goes on display for the first time in the United States on Sunday at the Philbrook Museum of Art.
The exhibit is the first in a series of world-class exhibits of contemporary design that are the result of the museum's partnership with Vitra Design Museum in Germany, one of the world's pre-eminent design venues.
"This partnership augments our own design aspirations perfectly," said Rand Suffolk, Philbrook's executive director.
One aspect of the Philbrook's Brady District space, due to open in the spring of 2013, will be the George R. Kravis II Design Collection, a portion of which is currently on display at Philbrook.
"From the iPhone and running shoes to chairs and vehicles, design encompasses all of us," Suffolk said, adding that "Philbrook (plans to) elevate the dialogue on design among museumgoers throughout the central United States."
Through its partnership with Vitra Design Museum, Philbrook holds exclusive rights to the "Antibodies" exhibitions within a 264-mile radius of Tulsa.
"Antibodies," shown at the Vitra Design Museum in 2009, is the first retrospective of the brothers' work, with examples of their design work, fine art pieces, mass-produced objects and prototypes that had never been displayed before.
The Campanas' philosophy is: "We give simple and everyday objects a new lease of life, a new meaning. Our designs were born in the street, from the urban kitsch of the popular quarters and contact with nature. Nature revitalizes our ideas."
"Antibodies" will be on display through Oct. 7.
‘ANTIBODIES’ BY FERNANDO AND HUMBERTO CAMPANAS
When: Sunday through Oct. 7
Where: Philbrook Museum of
Art, 2727 S. Rockford Road
Admission: $9. 918-749-7941,
tulsaworld.com/philbrook.
Original Print Headline: Everyday objects get new lease on life
James D. Watts Jr. 918-581-8478
james.watts@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
The Vermelha chair, one of the pieces designed by the Campana brothers in the exhibit "Antibodies."
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