Carlo Hauner
Two low coffee tables with removable trays by Carlo Hauner for Forma Italy.
Size : W 87 cm H 36 cm
Producer : Forma
CARLO HAUNER
(1927 - 1997)
Born in Brescia in 1927, Carlo Hauner studied technical drawing and drawing at the Brera Academy in Milan, Italy. In 1948 he successfully participated in the Venice Biennale after which he moved to Brazil, where he dedicated himself to the design of textile, ceramics, furniture and architecture. In only a very short time he founded a furniture production company and purchased a factory from Lino Ba Bardi and her husband Pietro Bardi, renaming it Móveis Artesanal.
In 1953 Hauner met Martin Eisler, who was looking for help to produce furniture for the home of his brother-in-law, Ernesto Wolf. Eisler reached out to Hauner and the rest is history. The two men connected and with Wolf’s financial backing, they opened Galeria Artesanal (a store to their company Móveis Artesenal) on a busy street in São Paulo.
Being highly ambitious and with an eye on the international market as well as the upcoming office market, Móvies Artesanal later changed into Forma. Together with Oca, Forma became one of the biggest names in Brazilian furniture production. Even managing to attract an exclusive license to sell Knoll furniture bringing big names in international design such as Mies Van Der Rohe, Charles Eames and Harry Bertoia to the Brazilian furniture market.
Hauner and Eisler’s designs are characterized by the use of Brazilian woods, thin tubular frames and range from furniture, to ceramics and textiles. Some of their most famous designs are the concha / haia chair (in English often referred to as ‘shell’ chair) and the ‘costella’ lounge chair.
In 1958 Hauner, supposedly on instigation of his Italian wife, decided to return to Italy to open Forma di Brescia, which catered to i.g. the embassy of Brazil in Rome and Vatican City. Eventually Hauner sold his part of the company, leaving Eisler solely at the helm, to focus himself on painting and the making of wine on Salina, a little Isle just above Sicily. After a full life the artist, designer and serial entrepreneur died in 1997.