In Loving Memory of Fernando Campana

The MAG 12/22

ARTICLE by Cristina Morozzi

In loving memory of Fernando Campana, who was one of the most influential designers of his generation.

I met up with Humberto Campana in Milan this past June at the Antonio Marras space, which during the Furniture Fair hosted a presentation of Nativo Campana, a Corsi Design collection of resin vases by Fernando and Humberto Campana that incorporates leather, tree branches and natural fibers into each handmade creation.

Humberto and I spent that beautiful summer evening under a pergola, sipping on good wine and rehashing poignant memories of our times in Brazil when Massimo was still with us. Before continuing my tour of the Milan Furniture Fair, I asked Humberto to say hello to his brother, Fernando, for me.

Fernando passed away on November 16 at 8 p.m. (Brazilian time). He was only 61 years old. My relationship with Fernando and Humberto was not merely professional but also fraternal. Fernando often told me that I was his Italian sister and he would often phone me when he was feeling down. I went to Brasilia with them, and they told me all about the history of the city, which was built from the ground up by Oscar Niemeyer, based on a prophecy of Italian priest Don Bosco, whom the city’s church is dedicated to.

Fernando and Humberto taught me to love the immense country of Brazil with all its contradictions and its lush nature. When I first met them, they were still hand-making their designs, including salvaged wood chair Favela. The Italian design world adopted them, thanks in part to Massimo who brought them on to collaborate with Edra, a Tuscan company they designed iconic pieces for.

And even with all their success in the world of design, Fernando gradually became interested in art. I realized this on August 14, 2017 while on vacation in Monterosso, when Fernando sent me a text message with a series of images he entitled “Macacos y Robots”. He had drawn the faces of monkeys and little robots in pen, with no descriptions, and I realized that those drawings were Fernando’s way of announcing himself as an artist.

The culmination of this was the exhibition at the Giustini / Stagetti Gallery in Rome in 2018, Il design onirico dei fratelli Campana (The Campana Brothers’ Dreamlike Design), where Fernando’s drawings were exhibited along with designs by the two brothers.