Humberto and Fernando Campana worked together in the field of artistic design from 1983, the year they founded their joint "Studio Campana Objetos".
The elder of the two brothers, Humberto Campana (b. 1953), studied law at the Universidade de São Paulo before starting to work as a sculptor and jewellery designer. His younger brother Fernando (1961–2022) studied architecture.
In their joint studio in São Paulo, Brazil, they designed furniture, lights and objects for renowned manufacturers such as Alessi, Oluce, Cappellini, Magis and Edra.
The ideas behind the Campana brothers' unusual designs can probably be traced back to the political and social background of their home country, Brazil. The materials they used sometimes come from Western high-tech laboratories and sometimes look as though they were taken from the slums of São Paulo. The individual elements of their furniture and objects don't seem to be fixed in the usual industrial way, but arranged by an artist's hand – randomly, spontaneously and by chance. At first, the viewer is puzzled, as the Campanas' works give an impression of instability and, at the same time, liveliness.
The brothers have been known to an international audience since 1998 at the latest, when the Museum of Modern Art in New York, USA, dedicated the exhibition Projects 66 to them together with the German lighting designer Ingo Maurer. The curator Paola Antonelli wrote in the catalogue at the time:
"The materials are ready-made, easy to handle and cheap; the forms are universal and practical. Designed intuitively and spontaneously, the Campana brothers' furniture makes full use of the freedom of expression that technology allows today."
The New York exhibition also helped to label the Campanas' work with the stylistic term "tropical modernism". Typical examples of the Campana style include the "Boa" sofa (2002 for Edra), which looks organic and alive, like a mound of intertwined snakes; the "Favela" chair (2003 for Edra), which resembles a pile of slats nailed together by an amateur; the "Sushi" armchair (2002 for Edra), which looks as though a heap of patches had been thrown on top of each other; and the "Blow Up" fruit bowl (2004 for Alessi), which looks like a chaotic collection of metal rods after an explosion.
With their unusual and provocative yet authentic designs, Humberto and Fernando Campana made an international name for themselves and are among the best-known designers in South America.
