Authored by historian Jayme Vargas and photographer Ruy Teixeira, this book brings together national and international galleries and collections to outline the recent appreciation of modern Brazilian furniture production. Featuring texts and photographic essays on 31 collections and galleries dedicated to modern Brazilian design, the book Horizonte ampliado – design moderno brasileiro highlights how this material heritage is perceived today. This perception, solidified over the decades since its inception, identifies these works as an essential part of Brazil's 20th-century modernization efforts. Its pages also reveal the maturation of the contexts surrounding modern Brazilian furniture today, as demonstrated by the high level of expertise and historical perspective found in the collections of the gallerists and collectors featured in the work.
In addition to the leading specialized Brazilian galleries and a partnership with the Associação Mobiliário e Design Moderno Brasileiro, which represents many of them, the book includes contributions from major international firms working with Brazilian furniture, reflecting the subject's global reach. By gathering and presenting these perspectives and key players in recent history side-by-side, the work demonstrates how pieces signed by icons of our design—such as Joaquim Tenreiro, Lina Bo Bardi, Sergio Rodrigues, José Zanine Caldas, and Jorge Zalszupin—have experienced a consolidation of recognition and exponential appreciation over the last two decades. The participants include ten national galleries based in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte—some of which also cater to the international market—and six international galleries located in Milan, New York, Paris, London, Los Angeles, Zurich, and Miami.
Reviewing their trajectories reveals the dynamic rediscovery of modern Brazilian furniture, as well as how they have adapted to the market's expansion and the resulting need to deepen available knowledge on the subject, generally by combining empirical research with cultural promotion in their commercial activities. The book also profiles 15 collections; the dialogues with these collectors serve to explore the facets of contemporary design collecting, a significant aspect of its current context.
