SP-Arte: Hugo França creates pieces from indigenous canoes and brazilwood

The standout pieces in Hugo França 's space at the 15th edition of SP-Arte reflect the designer's many years of work to bring wood back into people's lives, with its role reinterpreted. It was during a search for pequi-vinagreiro roots, a raw material that is already in extinction and is present in most of his creations, that Hugo França and his team found, by chance, a brazilwood root. Hidden in the sandy soil from the Muçununga vegetation, the rare wood, symbol of the first commercial practice of colonial Brazil, gained new life in the form of sculpture, with its moment of re-release chosen with care: the largest art and design event in Latin America. Next to the sculpture, two other pieces stand out in the space, not because of their size, but because of the history they carry: the Maitá and Marimbá chairs, made from a single pequi-vinagreiro canoe, produced between 100 and 150 years ago, he estimates. the designer. Found in the countryside, in the house of a Pataxó family, it was so old that it was no longer used for sailing, but rather for storing cassava in the family's flour mill. Hugo bought it 15 years ago and now presents it for the first time hand in SP-Arte . “The chairs made from canoes refer to the beginning of everything and also to a milestone in my career. My production began in Trancoso, precisely because of my coexistence with the Pataxó Indians, who made their own canoes and tools with wood from the forest. They became a symbol of my work and also one of the most valued pieces in the international auctions in which I participate”, adds Hugo França. More than 10 pieces grandly complete the 60 m² space, located in the design sector of SP-Arte 2019 . Service 15th edition of SP-Arte

From April 4th to 6th – Thursday to Saturday, from 1pm to 9pm. April 7th – Sunday, from 11am to 7pm. Where? Biennial Pavilion – Ibirapuera Park, Gate 3 – São Paulo, Brazil As? General admission: R$50 Promotional sock: R$20* *students, people with disabilities and senior citizens over sixty years of age [documents required]. The Vale-Cultura can be used to reduce the cost of admission by 50%. Children up to ten years of age do not pay admission.