Sérgio J. Matos

Born in Paranatinga, Northeast Brazil, Matos has been living in Campina Grande since he began training as an industrial designer, some ten years ago. Sérgio’s first encounter with design was as an intern at a company specialising in mass furniture production in 2004. From here he developed his first collection. He is currently a professor at the same university that awarded him his diploma. Being born in a region near the Xingu reserve, immersed in its culture and surrounded by the diversity of the forest, Sérgio has learned to master and work with natural materials. The colours and materials that he uses reflect Brazilian culture; the concepts for his designs come from memories of the Brazilian countryside, his childhood and the everyday objects he encountered in that setting. Matos says that handcrafting ‘is like an unpolished stone’ that should simply be polished to make it more commercial. His identity, in a regionalism that has characterized Brazilian design for fifty years, reflects the culture, the working techniques, the society’s modus vivendi, the popular celebrations, and environments frequently visited by the artist.