At Chelsea’s Hotel Americano last month, contemporary furniture brand Luteca debuted its first collection, featuring pieces by the late Mexican architect Pedro Ramírez Vázquez and his creative director, Swedish-Mexican designer Alexander Andersson. Co-founded by Andersson, public relations executive Amanda Price Reant, and her husband, Sebastian Reant, Luteca is full of beautiful modern furniture, designed by past icons and future innovators.
Andersson curates the collection, and is also responsible for developing the relationship with Ramírez Vázquez and his son Javier Ramírez Campuzano. Campuzano has handled his father’s legacy since the architect’s death in 2013. When he was 94 years old, Ramirez Vazquez granted Andersson access to his furniture design archive, which had been hidden for over half a century. Luteca finally brought these pieces to life.
“I was introduced to Alexander Andersson by an English friend who was living in Mexico City at the time,” said Price Reant. “Having spent over a decade working in luxury design, I was overwhelmed by how brilliant and innovative the furniture was. Everything I had been reading highlighted the incredibly rich talent there was in Latin America, but no one was making high-end Mexican design easily accessible. So I decided to do it myself."
Headquartered in New York City with offices in Mexico City, Luteca’s official launch includes a never-before-seen 20-piece collection of furniture, including chairs, coffee tables, dining tables and consoles priced between $1,400 and $11,960.
An exhibition of Pedro Ramírez Vázquez’s work is currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City (MAM). His work will also be a part of an exhibition at MoMA in New York. Construction in Latin America, curated by Barry Bergdoll, will be on display March 29 through July 12.
According to Price Reant, Luteca’s focus on Latin America, “rich with heritage and modern architecture, and where emerging talent is thriving, is reflected in the collection’s manufacturing; the entire collection is produced in Mexico City.”
"The collection combines calls upon skilled craftsmen, using traditional techniques with the most up-to-date machinery and technology, resulting in furniture that is both contemporary and artisanal,” she said.
“I have been fortunate to work for and with brilliant people in my career,” said Price Reant, whose career includes stints with George Smith and The Rug Company, “but one thing that is always consistent is that the design and creativity has to drive the business. My passion to share the collection, both Alexander’s work and the previously undiscovered collection of Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, is definitely my motivation."
A highlight of the collection is the Equipal Chair by Ramírez Vázquez, available in solid stainless steel or solid brass with black or brown leather, along with a complimentary dining table. The chair, first designed in 1964, is based on the classic Mexican banana leaf chair of the same name, architecturally reimagined with 36 components.
Luteca will be sold directly to interior designers and through exclusive retail outlets in New York and Los Angeles. Online purchasing will be available starting in July.
