On the occasion of NYCxDESIGN, ESPASSO and VERSO come together to build upon a longstanding collaboration, reactivating a shared history between Carlos Junqueira and Amauri Aguirar through a new, joint platform. Defined by a commitment to advancing Brazilian design across historical and contemporary contexts, this partnership brings into focus two complementary forces: ESPASSO’s deep engagement with the legacy of Brazilian modernism, and VERSO’s commitment to contemporary design. The result is a program that is not only about continuity, but about expansion, and an opening outward across time, geography, and discipline.
At a moment when global narratives increasingly lean inwards, hardening boundaries, this collaboration remains open and inquisitive, grounded in the exchange of materials, perspectives, and open ways of thinking. It unfolds through a program of exhibitions, events, talks, and installations across New York, London, Miami, and Los Angeles.
Dualde & Cornelsen
Within this program, we introduce the work of Lucas Dualde and Pali Cornelsen, presented here for the first time. Their debut collection emerges from a cross-cultural exchange between Spain, Brazil, and the United States, rooted in a long-standing friendship and shared sensibility. Their practice moves between architecture, interiors, and collectible design, and reflects a growing interest in a more tactile and expressive language, where material becomes both process and subject.
Developed in close dialogue with artist Jejo Cornelsen, Pali’s father, the pieces emerge through direct interventions, such as split wood, natural pigments, and compositions that balance structure with irregularity, positioning each object between function and sculptural presence.
Martin Eisler & Michel Arnoult
During this exhibition, the work by this contemporary design duo is placed in dialogue with the work of Martin Eisler and Michel Arnoult, two European-born designers who migrated to Brazil in the mid-20th century and played a foundational role in the development of Brazilian design.
Arriving at a moment when the country’s furniture industry was still being defined, Eisler and Arnoult each engaged directly with the conditions of production and access. Eisler contributed to the consolidation of a modern design language grounded in structural clarity and formal precision, while Arnoult approached design as a system, developing demountable furniture and production methods aimed at broader accessibility. Their practices reflect a formative moment in which migration, industry, and design converged to redefine how modern living could be produced and distributed in Brazil.
Brazil’s historical formation is inseparable from the contributions of immigrants who brought with them forms of knowledge not yet fully developed locally, from architectural practices to the making of everyday objects. It is this ongoing exchange that defines the pluralism of Brazilian culture.
144 Vanderbilt
Extending beyond the gallery space, ESPASSO and VERSO present a residential takeover at 144 Vanderbilt, developed in collaboration with the Office of Tangible Space. Conceived as a lived environment rather than a static exhibition, the installation explores how these dialogues unfold in space, where architecture, design and daily life intersect. The apartment becomes a site of encounter, reflecting the same principles of exchange and permeability that define the broader program.
Lina Bo Bardi
To close the week, ESPASSO will host a brunch and conversation dedicated to visionary Lina Bo Bardi, an architect whose own trajectory between Italy and Brazil continues to resonate as a model of cultural translation and radical openness. Centered around a selection of her seating designs, including the Cadeira Fregidio, the talk brings together Thiago Gomide, Lissa Carmona and João Baraúna in a discussion that reflects on her enduring relevance.
Across these moments, a shared condition emerges: the movement of people, ideas, and forms. From the migrations that defined Brazil’s modernist foundations to the contemporary practices that continue to operate across borders, this program resists fixed narratives. Instead, it proposes design as a field of exchange that remains open, in motion and continually redefined through encounter.