Vitra Miniature La Mamma by Gaetano Pesce
View Similar Items
Vitra Miniature La Mamma by Gaetano Pesce
About the Item
- Creator:Gaetano Pesce (Designer),Vitra (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 5.91 in (15 cm)Width: 7.49 in (19 cm)Depth: 9.06 in (23 cm)
- Style:Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:Nylon
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Contemporary
- Production Type:New & Custom(Current Production)
- Estimated Production Time:7-8 weeks
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: 202562011stDibs: LU3989118986062
Gaetano Pesce
Gaetano Pesce was of a generation of Italian architects who in the early 1960s rebelled against the industrial perfection of modernism by conceiving new furniture and objects that were at once expressive and eccentric in form; or you might say they were more like art than functionalist design.
Born in the picturesque coastal Italian city of La Spezia in 1939, Pesce was a precocious talent who could have forged a career as an artist but opted instead to go to Venice to study architecture because, as he has said, it was “the most complex of all the arts.” Rather than having new worlds opened to him at design school, however, Pesce found the rationalist curriculum oppressive in its insistence on standardization and prescribed materials and technologies.
Pesce wanted to explore the latest of both materials and technologies to create objects and buildings never before imagined, with what he called “personalities” that spoke to the issues of the day. He was keen to examine ways to diversify mass production so that each manufactured work could be distinct.
In 1964, Pesce met Cesare Cassina, of the forward-looking furniture company C&B Italia in Milan (now known as B&B Italia), for whom he would create many important designs, beginning with a collection of what he called “transformational furniture” — two chairs and a loveseat — made entirely out of high-density polyurethane foam. To make the pieces easy to ship and cost-efficient, he proposed that after being covered in a stretch jersey, they be put in a vacuum, then heat-sealed flat between vinyl sheets. Once the foam was removed from its packaging, the piece returned to its original shape — hence, the name Up for the series, which debuted in 1969.
In addition to these pieces, Pesce proposed for the collection something he referred to as an “anti-armchair,” which took the shape of a reclining fertility goddess, the iconic Donna.
Producing the piece's complex form turned out to be a technical challenge. Bayer, the foam’s manufacturer, deemed it impossible to accomplish. Pesce persisted and came up with a new procedure, demonstrating not only the designer’s key role in researching the nature and potential of new materials but also his vital importance in “doubting rules.” The Up chair and accompanying ottoman were born, and they were revolutionary in more ways than one.
In the early 1970s, Pesce began exploring one of his key concepts, the idea of the industrial originals. Employing a mold without air holes, and adding a blood-red dye to the polyurethane, he cast a bookcase that resembled a demolished wall, the rough edges of the shelves and posts resulting from fissures in the material made by trapped air.
Through his research into polyurethane, Pesce figured out a way to make a loveseat and armchair using only a simple wood frame and strong canvas covering as a mold. Since the fabric developed random folds during the injection process, the pieces were similar but not identical. Cassina named the suite of furnishings Sit Down and introduced it in 1975. By experimenting with felt soaked in polyurethane and resin, Pesce conceived I Feltri, another collection of armchairs introduced by Cassina in 1987.
Pesce went on to live a life that defied expectation and convention and along the way became one of the most seminal figures in art and design.
Find vintage Gaetano Pesce chairs, sofas, vases and more on 1stDibs.
Vitra
Design house Vitra has garnered international recognition for more than 70 years — the Swiss family-owned furniture company has outfitted public spaces as well as residential properties and offices worldwide. It has been a proponent of modernist design since the 1950s. While the brand is heralded for its collaborations with mid-century modern icons such as Verner Panton, Charles and Ray Eames, Alexander Girard and others, Vitra’s German campus is also home to buildings designed by legendary architects Zaha Hadid and Frank Gehry. Among them is the Vitra Design Museum, an independent cultural institution that displays two centuries of design today.
Vitra was established in Weil Am Rhein, Germany, in 1950 by husband and wife team Willi and Erika Fehlbaum. On a trip to New York several years later, Willi Fehlbaum encountered the work of design polymaths Ray and Charles Eames in a furniture store and immediately knew that he had found his bliss.
In 1957, Vitra entered into a licensing agreement with Herman Miller, which saw the company producing designs by George Nelson, the Eameses and others. Later, Vitra partnered with Verner Panton and created the Panton chair, which was the first chair ever crafted from a single piece of molded plastic (it was also the first piece to be independently developed by Vitra). After 27 years of establishing the Vitra brand, the Fehlbaums passed control to their two sons, Rolf and Raymond Fehlbaum.
When a fire destroyed the factory in 1981, the brothers developed the Vitra Factory Campus, subsequently taking the opportunity to redirect the architectural landscape of the company. They created a masterplan with Nicholas Grimshaw, and together they erected four buildings in just a few short years.
In 1988, with the passing of Ray Eames and the disbandment of the Los Angeles Eames office, Rolf and Raymond acquired the furniture design portion of her estate, including the Eames prototypes and experimental models, housed today in the Vitra Design Museum.
Rolf and Roy opened the Vitra Design Museum in 1989. This began a period rich with design relationships, including collaborations with Antonio Citterio, Jasper Morrison, Maarten van Severen, Philippe Starck, Alberto Meda and others.
In 2012, leadership passed to Nora, the third generation of the Fehlbaums. Nora Fehlbaum has, like her grandparents, expanded the company and brought it into the 21st century with the acquisition of Finnish furniture manufacturer Artek. Nora has turned the company’s focus to sustainability yet still maintains its international and cultural relevance legacy.
Find a collection of Vitra lounge chairs, tables, side chairs, sofas and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Gaetano Pesce Fish Design CatalogBy Gaetano PesceLocated in New York, NYEarly, and possibly the first, portfolio catalog of Gaetano Pesce’s experimental handcart molded resin objects—each a unique creation within a series. Published by Fish Design, circa...Category
1990s American Post-Modern Books
MaterialsPaper
- Gaetano Pesce, the Complete IncoherenceBy PhaidonLocated in New York City, NYIn a category, all his own, Gaetano Pesce is widely considered one of the most important and elusive creative figures of the last half-century. Bridging numerous key art and desig...Category
2010s Chinese Books
MaterialsPaper
$90 / item - Mamma Milano Lessons from the Motherland Book by J.J. MartinLocated in New York, NYMamma Milano Lessons from the Motherland By: J.J. Martin Embrace female empowerment with J.J. Martin, founder of world–renowned Milanese lifestyle brand La DoubleJ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Books
MaterialsPaper
- GUFRAMINI Little GOD Miniature by ToiletpaperBy Gufram Furniture, ToiletpaperLocated in La Morra, CuneoThe little GOD, a miniature version of Gufram's most iconic collaborations with TOILETPAPER. GOD derives from the union of the Cactus® - designed by Drocco and...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Models and Miniatures
MaterialsOther
- GUFRAMINI Miniature Cactus by Drocco & MelloBy Gufram Furniture, Guido Drocco and Franco MelloLocated in La Morra, CuneoThe miniature Cactus, one of the radical design symbols par excellence. Gufram offers its fans a version identical to the original designed by Drocco and Mello in 1972. The mini mold...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Models and Miniatures
MaterialsFoam
$490 / item - Gaetano Pesce Tramonto a New York Screen for Cassina, Italy - newBy Cassina, Gaetano PesceLocated in Berlin, DEGaetano Pesce Tramonto a New York Screen for Cassina, Italy - new. Made of artificial resin with brass base.Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
MaterialsBrass
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Ruth Lande Shuman’s Manhattan Apartment Is a Happy Rainbow — Thanks to Gaetano Pesce
Over the years, Shuman has filled her Park Avenue penthouse with the Italian designer's radically colorful creations. Here's how it all came to together.
With Their Rambunctious Faux Naïf Aesthetic, Young Makers Are Changing the Way We Think about Design
Following in the footsteps of Italian master Gaetano Pesce, these mostly millennial talents are embracing an intentionally imperfect style with wildly creative results.