Jorge Zalszupin; precious wood
Mass Modern Gallery
MassModernDesign
Schotsbossenstraat 17
4705AE Roosendaal
24 September – 24 October 2022
24 September on invitation
We are proud to announce our upcoming exhibition which is unique in Holland/Europe. Being the first Dutch gallery and one of the first European galleries, exhibiting a collection this diverse with furniture designed only by Jorge Zalszupin and made by his firm l’Atelier from the 1950s to the 1970s.
The past 3 years we collected over 40 different pieces from one of the most important designers from the 20th century. With many extraordinary and rare pieces of furniture from his oeuvre, some pieces are even one-off.
Jorge Zalszupin (1922-2020)
Celebrated for his sleek designs, but very intriguing approach to form, Zalszupin’s work captivates a great part of the Modernist movement in Brasil.
Early life
Born on June 1st in 1922 as Jerzy Zalszupin in Warsaw to Jewish parents, Jorge Zalszupin left Poland for Bucharest at 18 to escape Nazi persecution. In 1945 he graduated from Romania’s top architecture program at the École des Beaux Arts in Bucharest, Romania, and moved to France to work as an architect in the city of Duinkerke. As he was working on rebuilding projects after WWII. Here, the lasting weight of war and unrelenting reverence for history and its traditions took a toll on this modernist eager to move forward. After living in France for a short time, the desire of having a true fresh start, far from the ruins of Europe, let him to decide to emigrate to Brazil, excited by the possibilities in a country that was rapidly modernising and becoming more politically and culturally progressive at equal pace. He was also deeply inspired by the innovative work of Oscar Niemeyer, Le Corbusier, Lucio Costa and other modernists of the time. Arriving in Rio de Janeiro by ship in 1949, and determined to make his mark, he carried in his luggage a motorcycle with a Paris license plate, an architecture degree, a return ticket and a special edition of the French magazine “L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui”, celebrating Brazilian architecture. For days on end, Zalszupin rode through the streets of Rio with his motorcycle to visit the buildings featured in the magazine. When he was about to use his return ticket, he received an invitation to work in an architecture office in São Paulo, where he began working as assistant architect for another Polish architect named Luciano Korngold.
Book release
To celebrate this exhibition, 15 years anniversary of the MMD family and the 100th birthday of Jorge Zalszupin (1922-2020), we decided to make a book about his works and this exhibition. This book will be available for sale at our exhibition opening at a reduced price of
