MAR DE AMOR
MAR DE AMOR is the first significant exhibition showcasing the works of the 20th-century Brazilian architect, designer, and visionary José Zanine Caldas in Russia. It is based on the collection that Booroom Gallery founder Irina Budtseva-Vinitskaya began assembling in 2020. In Moscow, Booroom Gallerypresents objects that have been added to the collection in recent years, in dialogue with the works of Brazilian artist Daniela Busarello.
The idea of the exhibition, which has become an expression of a personal passion for collecting and design in Brazil, was born from the intuitive convergence of its two authors. Both are architects and creators, committed to working with local materials. Both are passionate individuals with strong spirits and free minds.
José Zanine Caldas was born on the southern coast of Bahia state and learned design through observation. Growing up surrounded by master craftsmen, he could not help but acquire rare skills and techniques, achieving mastery through practice—through endless personal experimentation. His legacy includes 700 models created for Brazil's major modernist architects, Lúcio Costa, Oswaldo Bratke, and Oscar Niemeyer, as well as approximately 500 houses and no fewer than 150 furniture models designed in two distinct periods.
José Zanine Caldas' objects—sensual and powerful—were always created with the intent of revealing the potential and unconditional beauty of each fragment of wood. Some of them have never been replicated. He transformed fragments of “found trees” left over from deforestation into furniture with expressive forms, involving the local community of canoe makers. His projects were always guided by a deep respect for nature—the forest as a source of life and strength, local practices, and community traditions—at a time when few were discussing decoloniality. He promoted a new, conscious approach to material usage and sustainability, making this his protest against humanity’s dominance over nature.
The centerpiece of the collection is the “Namoradeira” armchair, created during Caldas' most significant creative period, the years in which he worked on “Móveis Denúncia”—or “Protest Furniture”. This one-of-a-kind armchair is incredibly poetic: it embodies the power and strength of the Amazonian forest, while its shape serves as a true expression of balance. A rare piece of collectible design, it stands as a powerful metaphor for Caldas' life’s journey. He, too, knew how to navigate currents, following his passion and personal vision, staying true to himself while working wherever he felt called to be.
The second centerpiece of the exhibition is the painting “Zanine” by Daniela Busarello, created as an homage to Caldas' work. For artist and architect Daniela Busarello, the nature and genius of a place hold just as much significance. Like Caldas, she was born in Brazil and grew up surrounded by the timeless trees of the rainforest. Her work on the Amazon reflects the power, strength, and fragility of this extraordinary ecosystem. Her approach is rooted in exploring the interconnectedness of all living things—natural and inexplicable—permeating everything around her.
The exhibition features Busarello’s works from the series “Inner Landscape,” “Elapsed Time,” “Hommage À Courbet,” “Mar Verde,” and “Anima Mundi”, created between 2017 and 2024.
Daniela finds inspiration by studying minerals, plants, and waterscapes—whether rivers, the ocean, raindrops on a city highway, or even tears—all of which, for her, form part of the Earth's single living organism. Her abstract, metaphorical language invites the viewer to look beyond what is cognitively graspable and instead engage with the works on a sensory and emotional level. In this way, her pieces often transform into “landscapes” of human emotions, memory, and perception, reflecting places and events that have left an imprint.
The poetry of the subject, sincerity, passion, and respect for place—these are the unifying themes that bind their works together.
