- Title
- Tea Cart
- Date Made
- 1959
- Medium
- Jacaranda wood, iron, and brass
- Dimensions
- Tray: 1 3/4 × 45 3/4 × 15 1/2 in. (1 3/4 × 45 3/4 × 15 1/2 in.); cart: 27 1/2 × 41 1/2 × 20 in. (27 1/2 × 41 1/2 × 20 in.)
- Accession Number
- M.2025.29
- Collecting Area
- Latin American Art
- Curatorial Notes
Polish-born Jorge Zalszupin immigrated to Brazil in 1949, just as modernist architecture and design were reaching new heights of creative achievement there. A trained architect, he began creating furniture to outfit his own projects and opened his firm, L’Atelier, in São Paulo in 1959 to meet the increasing demand for modern furnishings. This tea cart was one of his earliest and most iconic designs for L’Atelier. Tea carts were a staple in Brazilian homes at the time, but Zalszupin added a fresh, sculptural approach that exemplifies his signature light, airy designs using molded woods. The oversized wheels take inspiration from the Polish baby strollers of his youth, while the light iron frame and curved jacaranda add a distinctly modern flair. In Zalszupin’s first design for the cart, the top tray (made of either pine or oak) had carved organic forms, which was costly to produce. He adapted his design into a more commercialized version, with a top tray made of jacaranda-laminate (same as the bottom tray) and simplified rectangular forms.
Rachel Kaplan
2025
- Copyright
- photo © Museum Associates/LACMA, by Kristina Simonsen
