JIG STUDIO MAKES HISTORY AT COLLECT ART FAIR 2026 WITH THE FIRST BRAZILIAN GALLERY PRESENTATION
Alex Rocca
Key works by Southern Brazilian textile artist Alex Rocca will be presented alongside works by Humberto da Mata, Ronald Sasson, BONNI, Origin by Plataforma 4, and Ovo at Collect art fair 2026, marking the first time Brazilian art and design have been presented exclusively by a single gallery at the fair.
JIG Studio, Soho’s permanent home for contemporary Brazilian design, presents works by six contemporary Brazilian artists and designers — all based and working in Brazil — at Collect art fair, Somerset House, 2026. This presentation represents a significant milestone in the fair’s history, introducing a dedicated gallery presentation of Brazilian art and design.
Across fourteen individual works, JIG Studio brings together material-led practices that foreground ancestry, experimentation, and handcraft. Works were shown at the JIG Studio stand on the ground floor with a further selection presented in the Collectors’ Lounge, presented by Trimble SketchUp and designed by Tola Ojuolape Studio.
A central highlight of the presentation is three pieces by textile artist and visual storyteller Alex Rocca (above). The series presents sculptural mixed-media works shaped by Afro-Brazilian ancestral knowledge and material experimentation. Rocca’s practice draws on Bantu and Yorubá cosmologies, joias crioulas, and centuries-old manual craft traditions. Glass, fibre, cotton and silk ebb and flow like shifting tides — accumulating, dispersing, and returning. Traditional Afro-Brazilian techniques such as braiding, piercing, and binding are elevated into a sculptural language that feels both rooted and quietly radical.
Erik Bonissato (BONNI): Symmetry Bench @JIG Studio at the Collectors Lounge presented by Trimble SketchUp and designed by Tola Ojuolape Studio and Rio Seats by Ovo
Alongside Rocca’s work, JIG Studio presented the work of Ronald Sasson - sculptural furniture and objects defined by clean, contemporary forms and the precision of his woodwork. Working with recycled, richly grained Brazilian woods, Sasson’s pieces combine solid volumes, refined curves, and a contemporary approach to proportion and balance, resulting in works that are both restrained and materially expressive.
“Brazilian design is built on memory, gesture, and cultural continuity,” says Grace Nemeth, co-founder of JIG Studio. “This presentation reflects the depth and vitality of contemporary Brazilian practice today, which is gaining international recognition. The work of each artist we are bringing to Collect for the first time shows how heritage can transform — absorbing rupture, reinvention, and continuity into a living creative force.”
Key pieces JIG Studio presented at Collect include:
· Alex Rocca: Ashanti and Motumba wall hangings alongside Flor, a textile sculpture
· Ronald Sasson: Nandeva armchair, BYA chair, and the Nazca table in stainless steel
· Erik Bonissato (BONNI): Symmetry Bench at the Collectors Lounge
· Ovo: Rio Seats (pair) at the Collectors Lounge
· Origin: Three side tables by Platforma 4 in collaboration with Origin
· Humberto da Mata: Orgus floor lamp no 08 and Orgus Mirror, no 010.
