Italian fashion house Bottega Veneta hosted an event celebrating Brazilian culture and artists at Lina Bo Bardi’s Casa de Vidro (Glass House) in São Paulo. This program, curated by Mari Stockler, is the latest installment of Bottega’s cultural exchange program The Square, which kicked off in 2022 in Dubai, followed by Tokyo. 

The Square series aims to connect artists and the public in global events that inspire curiosity and dialogue while promoting Bottega Veneta’s values of craft, creativity, and self-expression. The São Paulo edition stands out from its Dubai and Tokyo predecessors, as these square spaces were custom-made for the event. Casa de Vidro instead offered a lush setting representing Brazilian modernism, hosting an 11-day program with Brazilian artists from all over the country while honoring Bo Bardi’s interaction with Brazilian culture.

Curated for participants to explore four pathways through the house and garden, the event explores the themes of time, geometry and spirituality, Brazilian counterculture, and the roots of Bossa Nova. Finishing the house in 1951, Bo Bardi created a space that was a meeting place for artists, architects, and intellectuals during her life and, under the direction of the Instituto Bardi, after her death. 

Matthieu Blazy, Bottega Veneta’s creative director, has been inspired by Bo Bardi and Casa de Vidro for years. “Casa de Vidro is one of my favorite places”, says Blazy. “It’s a real inspiration to meet here with artists from across generations, across disciplines, and across Brazil to celebrate Lina Bo Bardi’s legacy and the richness of Brazilian culture. Bottega Veneta is all about timeless style. With The Square São Paulo, we recognize how Lina’s ideas and aesthetics resonate to this day, always reminding us of the transformative power of design and culture.”

The Square São Paulo showed Bo Bardi’s work, writings, and furnishings and also featured pieces by Lygia Pape, Hélio Oiticica, Augusto de Campos, Mestre Guarany, and Surubim Feliciano de Paixão. Four books about The Square’s four pathways are set to be published in a limited-edition boxed set.