Sérgio Rodrigues

Sergio Rodrigues 1927 - 2014

Sérgio Rodrigues was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1927 into a family of artists, including his father and uncle. After studying architecture with Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer, he worked for two years at the Hauner brothers' furniture company in São Paulo. Inspired by his interior design adventure at Forma, he founded the Oca Gallery in Rio de Janeiro in 1955 and began producing his own work. In the 1960s, Oca became Brazil's leading furniture supplier, winning numerous public projects during the construction of Brasilia and creating a new interior design aesthetic for the elite of Brazil's major cities. Sergio Rodrigues' prolific creations propose the coexistence of a tropical aesthetic and European modernism. Sergio Rodrigues' prolific creations propose the coexistence of a tropical aesthetic and European modernism. The result is a blend of comfort, beauty and the feel and smell of carefully selected materials. Despite his success in Brazil in the 1960s, it wasn't until the late 1990s that Sergio Rodrigues gained international recognition. The growth of the collectible furniture market led to the emergence of Brazilian designers; along with Joaquim Tenreiro, Sergio Rodrigues is now recognized as one of the fathers of Brazilian modernist design.