A self-taught artist, designer and architect, José Zanine Caldas was born in Bahia, Brazil. Heavily inspired by the local craftsmen there who carved boats and furniture from felled trees, Zanine began experimenting with chiseling and carving large, sculptural works, which became the focus of his later career. He also set himself apart with his pavilion-type architectural constructions in richly-colored hewn logs. Zanine was a devoted steward of the forest and proponent of environmental protection. He wrote extensively about his connection to the forest and tried, whenever possible, to either use already felled trees or to plant a tree for each one he used. This unique buffet is an example of the designer's "Protest Furniture".
