At the peak of the midcentury modern design period, many of the era’s pioneers crisscrossed the globe, forging ties and creating landmarks. An exhibit titled “Crossed Trajectories: Jean Royère, Roberto Platé, and the Global Journey of Designers and Artists,” which opened Tuesday at New York City’s Sutton Tower, demonstrates how this frenzied post-World War II movement created a cultural dialogue that still echoes today. This was one of the main reasons Galerie Gabriel, together with art collective CMS Collection, tapped New York–based, Brazilian interior designer Andre Mellone to curate the exhibit.
“Crossed Trajectories” includes over 100 works spanning furniture, lighting and painting, including a Jean Royère armchair, a Roberto Platé canvas, a chair by Tenreiro, an Italian chandelier by modernist Gino Sarfatti, and a piece by Maria Pergay.
“I have always admired André Mellone’s work, and for ‘Crossed Trajectories’ the choice felt natural — it just made sense,” Nancy Gabriel, who founded Galerie Gabriel in 2013, told WWD. “His Brazilian roots, New York practice, and culturally rich design language truly reflect the narrative of the exhibition. Andre brings together modernist rigor with a contemporary eye.”
After the war, Brazil became a magnet for émigré designers like Joaquim Tenreiro, Jorge Zalszupin, Martin Eisler, Carlo Hauner, Giuseppe Scapinelli, and Zanine Calda — all of whom fused European memory and heritage with tropical climate and craft, inventing a radical ecological modernism.
Royère, for example, was often regarded as a pillar of European design along with Le Corbusier and Gio Ponti. Many of his works were coveted, particularly by the royal circles and elite of the Middle East. He designed the captain’s quarters of the ocean liner SS France in 1961. Though he had showrooms from São Paulo to Tehran, Iran, production of his designs was halted when he ceased working as a decorator.
“Royère’s philosophy behind the aesthetic is something that I want to push. I want to make the viewers, the collector, understand that there is a driving force, there is a philosophy behind the result of each piece,” Gabriel added.
Nancy Gabriel
Courtesy of Galerie Gabriel
Roberto Platé, who was born in Buenos Aires in 1940 and left Argentina to settle in Paris, is also emblematic of this creative migration. Platè was known for his work in scenography and as a painter and for revolutionary works like Baños Públicos from 1972, Gabriel added.
“I was very honored to have been invited. I love everything Nancy does, but most of all, the opportunity to play with such iconic pieces is something any designer would be lucky to do. Discovering the art of Roberto Platé was an added and unexpected pleasure,” Mellone said.
Looking ahead, Gabriel said she would like to put forth strong female stories like that of Pergay, a Moldova-born designer who was the mother of four and was born under the rule of Joseph Stalin. She started her career in post-war Paris, beautifying boutique windows with her silver creations before producing a complete collection in the late 1950s.
“Today we are appreciating more and more the input of women in the world of design and we want their battle to be out there and to be respected and acknowledged. Maria Pergay was such a strong woman,” Gabriel said.
Sutton Tower is located in the Midtown East neighborhood. The exhibit runs until April 17.