SERGIO RODRIGUES IN MELIDES

Mr. Rodrigues began his career in the 1950s, when Brazilian interior design had not kept pace with the modernism of the nation’s leading architects, like Oscar Niemeyer and Lúcio Costa. Mr. Rodrigues was known for designs that made use of distinctive woods indigenous to Brazil, including jacaranda, peroba and imbuia, and were said to reflect the sociable, witty nature of the Brazilian national character. “He was a person who knew how to translate the Brazilian soul in furniture, with its humorous and relaxed way,” Baba Vacaro, the owner of Design Mix Studio in São Paulo, said in an interview. “When people think of Brazilian design, the first thing that comes in our head is the work of Sergio.”