Designer
Gaetano Pesce
Gaetano Pesce was born in La Spezia on 8 November 1939 and grew up in Padua and Florence. He studied architecture at the University of Venice under teachers such as Carlo Scarpa and Ernesto Rogers, and from 1958 to 1963 took part in Gruppo…
Biography
Background
Gaetano Pesce was born in La Spezia on 8 November 1939 and grew up in Padua and Florence. He studied architecture at the University of Venice under teachers such as Carlo Scarpa and Ernesto Rogers, and from 1958 to 1963 took part in Gruppo N, a collective devoted to programmed art. In his youth he wrote a manifesto defending the right to inconsistency in art. He died in New York on 3 April 2024.
Signature Style
Pesce erased the boundaries between art, design and industry. He worked with resin, foam and urethane, moulds and casting, and pioneered "diversified series" production, in which each industrially made piece is deliberately different — "imperfect and warm".
Notable Works
- Serie UP (1969) for C&B Italia / B&B Italia, including the UP5_6 armchair
- Organic Building, Osaka; Chiat/Day offices, New York
- Nobody's Perfect (2002) and tables for Cassina (2010)
Legacy
His work is held by MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum, the Centre Pompidou, the V&A and the Vitra Design Museum. The Serie UP received the Compasso d'Oro ADI Product Career Award in 2022.
