Original Design Sergio Rodrigues, Lucio Chairs for OCA Brazil, 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Sergio Rodrigues (Designer),Oca (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 31.5 in (80 cm)Width: 18.12 in (46 cm)Depth: 19.3 in (49 cm)Seat Height: 16.93 in (43 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Renens, CH
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5599232619832
Sergio Rodrigues
The prolific architect and designer Sergio Rodrigues is often called the "father of modern Brazilian design," but it is the second adjective in that phrase that deserves emphasis: Rodrigues’s great achievement was to create furniture in a style that captured the spirit, character and personality of his country.
Modernity came slowly to 20th-century Brazil, politically and culturally. The nation finally realized genuine constitutional democracy in 1945, ushering in a new, progressive era in the arts. Until that time, heavy furniture based on historical European models had been the norm. In the late 1940s, designer Joaquim Tenreiro introduced sleek, minimalist chairs and cabinets; José Zanine Caldas, now best known for his later artisanal work, created plywood furnishings for mass-production; the Italian architect Lina Bo Bardi, a former editor for the Gio Ponti-founded magazine Domus, set up shop in São Paulo, designing elegant, flexible chairs set on slim metal frames.
This was the heady scene into which Rodrigues, the son of an artistically prominent Rio de Janeiro family, arrived after graduating in 1952 from the national university. He established Oca Industries in 1955, a company that would become the preeminent maker of modernist furniture in Brazil. When architects Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer were tasked in 1956 with the whirlwind project to plan, design and build the new capital, Brasília, in five years, they used Rodrigues’s early chairs, with their softly-contoured lines and caned seats and backrests, to furnish many of the buildings.
Rodrigues would realize the true expression of his talents in — and garner international awards and acclaim with — his Mole chair of 1957. The word mole means "soft" in Portuguese, but can be interpreted as "easygoing" or even "listless." Rodrigues's chair features a sturdy, generously proportioned frame of the native South American hardwood jacaranda, upholstered with overstuffed leather pads that flap like saddlebags across the arms, seat, and backrest. It is a chair that invites sprawling — perfect for the social milieu of the bossa nova and caipirinha cocktails; where a languorous afternoon spent chatting and joking is the apex of enjoyment.
Most of the estimated 1,200 armchairs, sofas, tables, storage cabinets and dining tables Rodrigues designed in his long career are imbued, in one way or another, with this air of robust relaxation. Sergio Rodrigues was a designer true to the temperament of his people.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: La Sarraz, Switzerland
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Original Brazilian Mocho Stools by Sergio Rodrigues for OCA, 1950sBy Sergio Rodrigues, OcaLocated in Renens, CHSergio Rodrigues set the standard for Modern furniture in Brazil during the 1950s. His works have become a reference for Brazilian design, which often use indigenous hardwood species...Category
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsHardwood
- Sergio Rodrigues, Oscar Dining Chair by LinBrasilBy Sergio Rodrigues, OcaLocated in Renens, CHSergio Rodrigues set the standard for Modern furniture in Brazil during the 1950s. His works have become a reference for Brazilian design, which often use indigenous wood species su...Category
Early 2000s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsCane, Hardwood
- Italian Vintage Design “Musicale” Chair by Pierro Fornasetti, 1950sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Renens, CHA Musicale chair by Piero Fornasetti, produced by Atelier Fornasetti during the early 1990s. The Fornasetti company is specialized in hand...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Brazilian Design Costela Lounge Chairs by Hauner & Eisler for Forma, 1950sBy Carlo Hauner and Martin Eisler, FormaLocated in Renens, CHThe Costela (Rib) chairs and sofas by Carlo Hauner and Martin Eisler became an instant success after their introduction in the Brazilian market, and it wasn’t for long that productio...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Carlo Mollino: Theater Chair for the RAI Auditorium, Turin - 1950sBy Carlo MollinoLocated in Renens, CHTheater chair designed by Carlo Mollino for the 1952 renovation of the RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana) Auditorium. The armchair is completely original, no restorations have taken p...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsBrass
- Contemporary Design: Drum Chair, by Mac Stopa for Cappelini, 2000sBy CappelliniLocated in Renens, CHDrum Chair designed by Mac Stopa in 2016 for Cappelini, Italy. Mac Stopa is Polish-born architect and designer, with a fascination for mathematics and geomet...Category
Early 2000s Italian Post-Modern Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Sérgio Rodrigues for Oca Brazil, 1950s Low StoolBy Sergio RodriguesLocated in London, GBSérgio Rodrigues for Oca Brazil, 1950s Low Stool Three legged low stool in Imbuia wood. Bears Oca burn mark under. Sergio Rodrigues was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1927 and passed ...Category
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsImbuia
- Set of 8 ‘Lucio' Chairs, Sergio Rodrigues, Rosewood, Brazilian Midcentury DesignBy Sergio RodriguesLocated in New York, NYThe Lucio chair is an icon of Brazilian design, made with a solid wood structure, originally rosewood, and a flat cane seat. The backrest is sculpted with anatomical design and turned feet. Sergio Rodrigues designed this piece in 1956 in honor of Lucio Costa...Category
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsStraw, Rosewood
- Set of 6 ‘Lucio' Chairs, Sergio Rodrigues, Rosewood, Brazilian Midcentury DesignBy Sergio RodriguesLocated in New York, NYThe Lucio chair is an icon of Brazilian design, made with a solid wood structure, originally rosewood, and a flat cane seat. The backrest is sculpted with anatomical design and turned feet. Sergio Rodrigues designed this piece in 1956 in honor of Lucio Costa...Category
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsStraw, Rosewood
- Set of 8 Rosewood ‘Lucio' Chairs, Sergio Rodrigues, 1956, Brazilian MidcenturyBy OCA Brazil, Sergio RodriguesLocated in New York, NYThe Lucio chair is an icon of Brazilian design, made with a solid wood structure, originally rosewood, and a flat cane seat. The backrest is sculpted with anatomical design and turned feet. Sergio Rodrigues designed this piece in 1956 in honor of Lucio COSTA, the great Brazilian architect and urban planner. This set is composed of eight chairs of Rosewood, with natural cane seats. Best known for his plan for Brasília, Lucio COSTA was one of the architects responsible for the project that became the most significant landmark of modern architecture in Brazil: the MEC (Ministry of Education and Culture) building in Rio de Janeiro, inaugurated in 1943. The construction presented a Modern architecture of Brazilian industry...Category
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsStraw, Rosewood
- Sergio Rodrigues Tonico Lounge Chairs with Ottomans, 1960s BrazilBy Oca, Sergio RodriguesLocated in Los Angeles, CAStunning pair of Tonico lounge chairs designed by Sergio Rodrigues with matching ottomans. Made by Oca for Meia Pataca in Brazil, these chairs and ottomans are made of solid Jacarand...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWool, Wood, Leather
- Mid-Century Modern "Mocho" Stool by Sergio Rodrigues for OCA, Brazil, 1950sBy Sergio Rodrigues, OCA BrazilLocated in Deerfield Beach, FLMid-Century Modern "Mocho" Stool by Sergio Rodrigues for OCA, Brazil, 1950s Inspired by the traditional cow-milking stools used in Brazil, the three-legged Mocho is a 1954 creation...Category
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsWood