Of the founding generation of radical designers, Gaetano Pesce’s influence remains unparalleled. By refusing to adhere to traditional boundaries between architecture, sculpture, and conceptual art, his cross-contamination between genres consequentially altered the landscape of design and was a catalyst for the establishment of the contemporary studio practice.
Born in 1939 in La Spezia, Italy, Pesce graduated with a degree in architecture from the University of Venice in 1965. Contemporaneous to the investigations of the Italian Arte Povera movement, he inserted himself into serial production situations, attempting to humanize manufacturing through variation and expression for B&B Italia, Cassina and Bracciodiferro. His radical experimentation with industrial and everyday materials such as polyurethanes and poured resins broke the mold of standardization. Inventing techniques that would produce variable results that invited flaws and mistakes, Pesce refused to follow the modernist ideology of regularity and perfection dominant at the time.
His architectural projects include the Organic Building of Osaka in Japan (1990), a precursor to the ‘living wall,’ “in which the “co-existence of greenery, architecture, and human beings,” is the concept. Perhaps his best known project is the design for the advertising agency TBWA\Chiat\Day’s offices in New York (1994), a radical experimental layout that is considered the first mobile office.
Pesce has taught at several institutions including Cooper Union in New York, and the Institut d’Architecture et d’Etudes Urbaines in Strasbourg. His work is included in the permanent collections of museums worldwide such as the Centre Pompidou, Paris; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Montreal; Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Paris; Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY and Museum of Modern Art, Turin.
Pesce lives and works in New York, NY.
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Gaetano Pesce

“An object should express more than beauty – it should be subversive.”
WORK
VIEW THUMBNAILS
Dome Lamp, c. 1994
Recycled paper, polyurethane
14 x 27 x 27 inches
35.6 x 68.6 x 68.6 c
FB13472
Tree Lamp, 1992
Polyurethane urethane, steel, papier-mâché
41 x 28 x 25 inches
104.1 x 71.1 x 63.5 cm
FB12109
Seaweed Chair, 1991
Resin-impregnated shredded fabrics
31 x 41 x 31 inches
78.7 x 104.1 x 78.7 cm
Edition of 6
(Seaweed Chair)
Industrial Skin: Una Casa Per Me, 1991
Polyurethane
112 x 60 inches
284.5 x 152.4 cm
FB28887
Felt Cabinet with Drawers, 1987-1991
Wood, papier-mache, felt and resin
77.75 x 33.5 x 19.5 inches
197.5 × 85.1 × 49.5 cm
FB15955
Prototype for Les Ateliers, 1986-1987
Wood, polychrome epoxy, resin and shellac
93 x 56.75 x 22.75 inches
236.2 × 144.1 × 57.8 cm
FB18190
Wall clothes hanger from Casa Carenza, Padua, 1972
Metal and brass, polyurethane and resin coated in red lacquer
90.5 x 47.25 x 6.75 inches
229.9 x 120 x 17.1 cm
FB27842
Golgotha Chair, 1972
Dacron filled and resin soaked fiberglass cloth
39 x 18.5 x 26.5 inches
100 x 47 x 67 cm
FB29185
Dome Lamp, c. 1994
Recycled paper, polyurethane
14 x 27 x 27 inches
35.6 x 68.6 x 68.6 c
FB13472
INQUIRE ABOUT THIS WORK
Tree Lamp, 1992
Polyurethane urethane, steel, papier-mâché
41 x 28 x 25 inches
104.1 x 71.1 x 63.5 cm
FB12109
INQUIRE ABOUT THIS WORK
Seaweed Chair, 1991
Resin-impregnated shredded fabrics
31 x 41 x 31 inches
78.7 x 104.1 x 78.7 cm
Edition of 6
(Seaweed Chair)
INQUIRE ABOUT THIS WORK
Industrial Skin: Una Casa Per Me, 1991
Polyurethane
112 x 60 inches
284.5 x 152.4 cm
FB28887
INQUIRE ABOUT THIS WORK
Felt Cabinet with Drawers, 1987-1991
Wood, papier-mache, felt and resin
77.75 x 33.5 x 19.5 inches
197.5 × 85.1 × 49.5 cm
FB15955
INQUIRE ABOUT THIS WORK
Prototype for Les Ateliers, 1986-1987
Wood, polychrome epoxy, resin and shellac
93 x 56.75 x 22.75 inches
236.2 × 144.1 × 57.8 cm
FB18190
INQUIRE ABOUT THIS WORK
Wall clothes hanger from Casa Carenza, Padua, 1972
Metal and brass, polyurethane and resin coated in red lacquer
90.5 x 47.25 x 6.75 inches
229.9 x 120 x 17.1 cm
FB27842
INQUIRE ABOUT THIS WORK
Golgotha Chair, 1972
Dacron filled and resin soaked fiberglass cloth
39 x 18.5 x 26.5 inches
100 x 47 x 67 cm
FB29185