Joaquim Tenreiro Masterworks

At the heart of Joaquim Tenreiro's art lies his profound understanding of the inherent properties of wood. As early as the 1940s, he was among the first to utilise Brazil’s abundant varieties of hardwood, and his intuitive knowledge of a material previously unseen in the creative world served as the cornerstone of his radical new designs.  

As evidenced in this exhibition, Tenreiro’s use of hardwoods allowed him to craft artworks that not only liberated the beauty of wood but also enhanced its functionality. He updated ubiquitous objects of Brazilian heritage into beguiling, geometric forms. Linear, light designs became hallmarks of Tenreiro’s art, relieved of the weight of history and looking towards a new modern era.  

Selling his hand-made furniture directly to the elite circles of Brazilian society, Tenreiro confirmed his creative vision as the defining aesthetic of modernity. In this regard, his legacy is indelibly imprinted on the Brazilian art and design landscape still to this day.   

The artworks on display in Masterworks are mostly bespoke pieces, commissioned for the homes of actors, writers, and those enriched by the post-WWII economic boom. Carpenters Workshop Gallery have sourced them from collections rarely seen in public over the past decades.   

Emphasis is placed on the bridges between Tenreiro’s artistic practices, as a sculptor and painter as well as a designer, and on the force of his persona able to revolutionise the modern Brazilian period. 

Joaquim Tenreiro: Masterworks continues Carpenters Workshop Gallery’s explorative programming of historic collectible design, expanding the gallery’s offering to complement its contemporary focus. 

As seen in previous exhibitions, such as the Zanine Caldas Denuncia retrospective in Paris earlier this year, Carpenters Workshop Gallery have built an extensive collection of historic Brazilian design centred on key artists such as Zanine Caldas, Joaquim Tenreiro, and Carlo Hauner & Martin Eisler. The collection mirrors the gallery’s priorities, with a focus on masterpiece level artworks with exceptional provenance.   

Carpenters Workshop Gallery will host a second exhibition focussing on the masterpieces of Joaquim Tenreiro at Ladbroke Hall, London, in 2024, revealing further aspects of this prolific creator.