Editorial
Promising designers
Who are the designers to watch closely in 2025?
9 Jan 2025, 12 pm
To kick off the work for 2025, in addition to promising artists, we have launched a list of designers to keep an eye on. To contribute to this task, we invited Jacqueline Terpins, founder of the eponymous design studio; Gerson de Oliveira, co-founder of ovo; Livia Debbane, writer, curator, and researcher; Winnie Bastian, a design journalist; and Ricardo Innecco and Mariana Ramos, founders of Estúdio Rain (who, coincidentally, were nominated by another participant to be included in the selection).
Each of them recommended up to two Brazilian designers who are expected to stand out in 2025 and provided a brief text justifying their choices. Just like the bets in the visual arts, the criteria focused on their trajectory, the relevance of their work, and participation in exhibitions, considering the current moment more important than the length of their careers.
In the list you can check below, there is a diversity of materials and proposals that align beauty, functionality, and sustainability.
Here is the list of artists to watch in 2025.
Above: André Carvalho's pieces
André Carvalho
André Carvalho’s work has demonstrated great coherence and consistency. His process emphasizes attention to detail and care for proportions and ergonomics, as can be seen in the Pouso armchair, for example. The designer has been making high-quality presentations at exhibitions such as Made, and currently, his studio is one of the highlights of Galeria Metrópole, the new hub of youthful design in São Paulo.
André Carvalho, "Pouso" jequitibá armchair
André Carvalho, "Tempo rei" table
André Grippi
The work of designer André Grippi has always drawn attention for combining formal quality and conceptual rigor. The sculptural character is strong in his production, as seen in the pieces from the Pista series or the furniture from the Cabana line. In his chair and sofa designs, attention to proportions and ergonomics is evident. He also stands out for the fluidity with which Grippi transitions between diverse materials and techniques, such as wood, ceramics, and metal, among others. His recent presentations at the Made and SP–Arte fairs showcase the vigor of his production in booths with concise and clean exhibition design, in harmony with the language of his studio/showroom at Galeria Metrópole.
André Grippi, objects from the "Pista" series
André Grippi, furniture from the "Cabana" line
Assimply Studio
It was the pandemic that brought Brazilian Victor Xavier and Dane Søren Hallberg together in product design. During the lockdown, Victor (then studying Architecture at UFRJ) and Søren (who holds a degree in Digital Design from IT University of Copenhagen) began experimenting with recycled glass to create a different type of granilite. Since then, their work has matured and gained consistency with the development of other materials, always focusing on repurposing raw materials. Notable collections include Nu, made with recycled brick dust, marble, and aluminum, and Brut, created from the rubble generated during the renovation of the duo’s studio – both launched in 2024, employing 50% and 70% recycled material, respectively.
Assimply Studio, piece from the "Brut" collection (photo: Pedro Barcellos)
Assimply Studio, piece from the "Nu" collection (photo: Pedro Barcellos)
Danilo Costillas
Designer and carpenter Danilo Costillas, who participated in SP–Arte for the first time in 2024, founded a handcrafted woodworking shop, Casa Costillas, where he revives the ancient craft of carpentry. With an authorial design, he develops unique or small-scale furniture and lighting pieces from reclaimed raw woods, as well as batches of beams and columns rescued from the Liceu de Artes e Ofícios, always focused on exploring the variety of Brazilian woods in their colors, textures, and densities. Danilo’s sensitive approach to working with this material, laden with memories, is deeply moving.
Danilo Costillas, "Ninho" lamp
Danilo Costillas, "Barnabé" stools
Domingos Tótora
Domingos Tótora’s work is notable for its use of an unconventional and sustainable material: cardboard. His ability to transform this simple raw material into pieces that possess both complexity of execution and formal simplicity has always been fascinating. Domingos already has an impressive body of work both within and outside Brazil, and he is a promising figure because his professional practice shows audacity in the use and mastery of the material and technique he developed himself, and above all due to the social transformation he proposes in the context of his city, Maria da Fé, in Minas Gerais, serving as an inspiration for current and future generations of designers.
Domingos Tótora, "Âmago" sculpture
Domingos Tótora, "Estrada" bench
Estúdio Rain
The Rícino collection is a landmark for contemporary Brazilian design: by investigating a material derived from civil construction, castor oil, Rain developed a translucent amber resin and used it to create lamps. They have not stopped experimenting and testing applications. The third phase of the project, launched at the end of 2024, presents new colors and textures achieved by mixing the resin with other compostable materials, such as coffee grounds, turmeric, and spirulina algae. The search for sustainable alternatives has generated solid and surprising aesthetic results.
Pieces from Estúdio Rain
Estúdio Rain lamps
Studio De La Cruz
Graduating in Architecture from the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), Gabriel De La Cruz Mota is not exactly a newcomer to product design: he specialized in 2016 at the Pan-American School in São Paulo and has even coordinated the product department of a large firm. However, it was in 2023 that he decided to focus on his own studio, and since then, he has been creating (and signing) products that unite project rationality, constructive intelligence, and aesthetic harmony. An example is the Alfaiate tables (2024): the stainless steel sheets are delivered disassembled, in flat packaging; once assembled, they gain stability when secured with straps. The Soleta chair (2024) explores the structural properties of soleta leather: a single surface of this material, folded, forms the backrest and gives personality to the piece.
Studio De La Cruz, "Alfaiate" table (photo: Lucas Rosin)
Studio De La Cruz, "Soleta" chair (photo: Lucas Rosin)
WENTZ
Guilherme Wentz stands out for creating furniture and objects based on the best practices of industrial design. His work embodies functional elegance, simplicity, and conciseness. In addition to these attributes, his designs carry a sense of serenity and softness that evokes the great names of contemporary design, such as the Bouroullec brothers, Barber & Osgerby, and Jasper Morrison. At a young age, he founded his own brand and has been expanding it in the international market. He launched the collection Objects for Silence at the end of 2024 and is preparing to relocate in São Paulo.
Piece by Guilherme Wentz
Piece by Guilherme Wentz
SP–Arte Profile
Join the SP–Arte community! We are the largest art and design fair in South America and we want you to be part of it. Create or update your profile to receive our newsletters and to have a personalized experience on our website and at our fairs.