This Self-Taught Designer’s Dark Wood Furniture is Imbued with Spirituality

It wasn’t until the pandemic that South American designer Rafael Triboli found his calling. Triboli grew up in Porto Alegre, in the south of Brazil, and studied communications at a university there. He later moved to São Paulo and worked as an art director and scenography designer. But during lockdown, which forced him back home for a period, he looked inward and delved into his own artistic practice: signing up for free courses; discovering influences in artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Donald Judd, and Eileen Gray; and, eventually, experimenting in a friend’s wood shop. “I tried to put myself in a mindset to see which textures seemed right for me,” he says, “but one of the most important lessons was to learn from my mistakes.”

With the time and opportunity to research, learn, and experiment in the world of art and design, the Brazilian creative quickly learned that his favorite woods to work with are the darker, harder varieties such as mahogany, imbuia, and ipe that are native to Brazil. He uses these primarily to produce everything from simple seats, benches, and daybeds that wouldn’t look out of place in a friary – albeit a very stylish one – to more complex cabinets, dressers, trunks, and tables. Triboli has also created a series of sconces and table lamps, which feature heavily patinated metal shades and diffusers paired with the dark wood bases. To shape the materials, he employs a range of chisels, grinders, knives, and other hand tools to create an effect he describes as “smooth but also raw.” He typically finishes his piece by carving patterns that look like ancient religious markings, or inlaying wax-cast bronze or brass elements into the wood, which he likens to amulets. “My work is a lot about my spirituality, and I think that my furniture sometimes has a very spiritual vibe and presence,” Triboli says.

His current studio is in São Paulo’s creative neighborhood, Barra Funda, where artists and designers have taken over the former industrial spaces; together they all co-host the city’s annual design fair in March. Triboli got his break in the US back in 2023, when he presented with AGO Projects at Design Miami. “It was life — and career — changing,” he says. “Collectible design is not as common here in Brazil, so it was really great for me to have that opportunity.” His success at the fair allowed him to shift his focus solely to working as an artist and a designer, and he’s been booked and busy ever since. Triboli held a solo show in July at São Paulo’s Aalvo Gallery, and this week is presenting his first solo show in the States at Anthony Meier gallery in San Francisco – in partnership with AGO Projects – which opened yesterday to coincide with the city’s FOG fair. He has spent the past five months working on 34 new pieces for the exhibition, which he believes are the most authentic — and perhaps the most divine — manifestations of his practice so far.