A Polish Jew, Jorge Zalszupin fled from his country amidst during World War II to take refuge in Romania, where he earned his degree in architecture. After working in France, he traveled by ship to Rio de Janeiro in 1949 with only a motorcycle, his architecture diploma, a return ticket, and a special issue of the French magazine L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui; which praised Brazilian architecture. Just as he was preparing to use his return ticket, he received an invitation to work at an architectural firm in São Paulo.

After becoming a Brazilian citizen in 1953, he began to work on his own, designing not only the houses but also taking charge of creating furniture. Giving rise to opening his wood working shop L’atelier, in 1959. Hugely successful, L'atelier grew to 200 employees, and today designs like the Dinamarquesa Chair alongside many others are considered Brazilian classics. The collection being exhibited at Avenue Road represents the North American debut of newly released re-issued pieces from Etel, alongside other classics that span his 50 year career.

AVENUE ROAD carries a curated assortment of Jorge Zalszupin pieces.