Farewell to Gaetano Pesce: the life and career of a visionary designer-artist

Artist and designer, experimenter and provocateur, creator of both artworks and design furniture, Gaetano Pesce defies categorisation. We look back on the life and career of Gaetano Pesce, who passed away in 2024 in New York at the age of 84.

Gaetano Pesce: a Career in art and design

Born in 1939 in La Spezia, Gaetano Pesce studied architecture at the University of Venice. Throughout his long career, he has experimented with materials and forms, creating unique works that are highly sought after by contemporary art collectors, alongside some of the most iconic pieces of modern design.

Among his most famous creations is the Up series, designed for B&B Italia in 1969, a collection of seven seats with anthropomorphic shapes, including the Up7, known for its oversized foot-like form, and the Up5_6 armchair.

Gaetano Pesce’s Up5_6 armchair and its statement on women’s condition worldwide

With the Up5_6 armchair for B&B Italia, shaped like a woman with a ball and chain, Gaetano Pesce makes a powerful statement about the condition of women around the world, portraying them as prisoners.

“This armchair was my way of conveying something beyond advanced technique, innovative materials, and product comfort. At the time, the issue of male violence against women was scarcely acknowledged. I believed then that this serious mark of incivility- present in every country – would diminish over time. Unfortunately, that has not been the case,”

recalled Gaetano Pesce.

Gaetano Pesce’s Feltri for Cassina

Another iconic creation by Gaetano Pesce is the Feltri armchair, designed for Cassina in 1987. Resembling a regal throne, it is crafted entirely from thick wool felt, with a lower section made rigid through the application of thermosetting resin.

Experiments with resin

From the 1990s onwards, Gaetano Pesce began experimenting with resin, an industrially derived material, to create artworks such as vases and canvases.

One notable example is his “industrial skins”, thin sheets of polyurethane resin designed as an alternative to paper, which Pesce deemed obsolete. These flexible, glossy supports are mounted on walls, serving as a canvas on which the artist draws using additional layers of resin.

The result is large-scale compositions: transparent, translucent, flexible, and entirely unique.

Top image – Credits to @gaetanopesce

Article translated by Agnese Giardini

Tag

Curiosities

Subscribe to our newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date with our latest news Subscribe with your email address to receive the latest news, updates and practical tips from the real estate world directly in your inbox

Subscribe