Stripe Jersey Serie Up 2000 Armchair and Ottoman by Gaetano Pesce, B&B Italia
View Similar Items
Stripe Jersey Serie Up 2000 Armchair and Ottoman by Gaetano Pesce, B&B Italia
About the Item
- Creator:Gaetano Pesce (Designer),B&B Italia (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 40.56 in (103 cm)Width: 47.25 in (120 cm)Depth: 51.19 in (130 cm)Seat Height: 16.54 in (42 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Second Half of the 20th Century
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor fading. Please note: This fabric on this chair and ottoman is in original vintage condition. Although it has been cleaned the ottoman and seat have some minor areas of discolouration.
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU227638993001
Gaetano Pesce
Gaetano Pesce is 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, he 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 its 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 has gone on to live a life that defies expectation and convention and along the way has become one of the most seminal figures in art and design.
Find vintage Gaetano Pesce chairs, sofas, vases and more on 1stDibs.
B&B Italia
In 1966, Piero Ambrogio Busnelli cofounded C&B Italia, a modern Italian furniture manufacturer, with Cesare Cassina in northern Milan. From the outset, Busnelli and Cassina set about recruiting the most talented modernists in Italy to conceive of creative furnishings manufactured in modern ways. In the early 1970s, the company split, with Cassina founding his own eponymous firm and Busnelli taking leadership of what became B&B Italia.
For decades, Busnelli cultivated relationships with the world’s best design talent, resulting in furniture pieces that remain iconic today — be they Gaetano Pesce’s outwardly curvaceous Up seating (made for C&B, reintroduced by B&B) or tables from industrial designer Paolo Piva, each more sophisticated than the next in their geometrically complex steel-tube bases. B&B Italia earned four prestigious Compasso d’Oro design awards: in 1979 for Mario Bellini’s Le Bambole, in 1984 for the Sisamo wardrobe system by Studio Kairos, in 1987 for Antonio Citterio’s modular Sity sofa and, in 1989, the first award given to a manufacturing company itself.
Other notable names who designed for B&B Italia over the course of its 54-year history include Patricia Urquiola, Naoto Fukasawa, Zaha Hadid, Ettore Sottsass and Vincent Van Duysen, to name a very few. And while these names bring star power to the B&B brand, in many cases, it was B&B Italia who helped usher in their celebrity, fostering a wave of design talent on the world stage.
The company’s forward-thinking vision manifested in its own headquarters, too: In 1972, B&B Italia tapped architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers to design a steel-framed, postmodern-style home for the brand, whose crisscrossing metal exoskeleton is reminiscent of the pair’s Centre Pompidou in Paris, which was built at roughly the same time. Now, B&B Italia manages a contract division and outdoor section as well as its residential arm, and it also controls production for Maxalto, a brand spun out with furniture designs by Antonio Citterio.
At 1stDibs, find a range of vintage B&B Italia furniture — including sofas, cocktail tables and more.
- Set of Four JH513 Oak Armchairs by Hans Wegner for Johannes Hansen C1957Located in London, GBGraceful, intellectual and timeless design. Incredibly lines, exemplary joinery and construction. These highly collectable examples with the enviable combination of aged patina oak a...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsLeather, Oak
- A pair of Thomasville 'Ernest Hemingway' carved alder armchairsLocated in London, GBA pair of Thomasville 'Ernest Hemingway' carved alder armchairs modern, each with armrests carved in the manner of antelope antlers, upholstered in sumptuous blush velvet. Provenan...Category
Vintage 1960s American Colonial Revival Armchairs
MaterialsHardwood
- Original French Louis XIV walnut throne wing armchair, 18th centuryLocated in London, GBRich patina and warm walnut tones, with wingback headrest and beautifully scrolled arms, the lower frame comprises an H-form cross stretcher with intricate turned legs. Newly upholst...Category
Antique Late 17th Century French Louis XIV Armchairs
MaterialsWalnut
- A Pair of Cherrywood Armchairs attributed to Etienne-Henri Martin, circa 1937By Jean PascaudLocated in London, GBExquisite form, patina and quality. With scroll arms, sabre legs and elliptical scalloped back. Finished in Skai nappa faux leather.Category
Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Armchairs
MaterialsFaux Leather, Cherry
- 19th Century Queen Ann Camel Back Elbow ChairBy Gillows of Lancaster & LondonLocated in London, GBCharming camel back mahogany elbow chair in good original condition. With beautiful shell carving on its knees. Recovered in antique linen, inside upholstered in original horsehair...Category
Antique Mid-19th Century British Victorian Armchairs
MaterialsMahogany
- Console Table Design by Toad Gallery London - hand crafted and scalableBy Toad GalleryLocated in London, GBElegant and minimal console table featuring hand forged blackened steel base made by master blacksmith. Topped with birch ply, hand finished usin...Category
21st Century and Contemporary English Console Tables
MaterialsSteel
- "Big Mama" Up Chair By Gaetano Pesce For B&B Italia, Italy, circa 2000By B&B Italia, Gaetano PesceLocated in Royal Tunbridge Wells, KentIt was 1968 when Gaetano Pesce began experimenting at his Paris atelier with vacuum-packing the hippest material of the moment: polyurethane. Soon he’d developed a gravity-defying mo...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, PVC
- Up 1 armchair by Gaetano Pesce for B&B Italia 1969By Gaetano Pesce, B&B ItaliaLocated in PARIS, FRIn the early 60’s, the chemist Bayer developed a polyurethane foam with a new resin, allowing the creation of various and simple shapes. In the middle of the decade, the Italian desi...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Foam
- "Big Mama" Up Chair by Gaetano Pesce for B&B Italia, Italy, c.2000By B&B Italia, Gaetano PesceLocated in Royal Tunbridge Wells, KentIt was 1968 when Gaetano Pesce began experimenting at his Paris atelier with vacuum-packing the hippest Material of the moment: polyurethane. Soon he’d developed a gravity-defying mo...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric
- "Big Mama" Armchair & Ottoman by Gaetano Pesce for B&B ItaliaBy Gaetano PesceLocated in Brussels, BE"Big Mama" Armchair & Ottoman by Gaetano Pesce for B&B ItaliaCategory
Vintage 1960s Armchairs
MaterialsFabric
- B&B Italia 'La Mamma' Up 5/6 Lounge Chair&Ottoman, Green Stripe by Gaetano PesceBy B&B Italia, Gaetano PesceLocated in Toronto, CASince its first appearance, the Up Series, designed in 1969 by Gaetano Pesce, has been one of the most talked about examples of modern furniture design. The exceptional visual impact...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Foam
- B&B Italia 'La Mamma' Up 5/6 Lounge Chair & Ottoman, Red Stripe by Gaetano PesceBy Gaetano Pesce, B&B ItaliaLocated in Toronto, CASince its first appearance, the Up Series, designed in 1969 by Gaetano Pesce, has been one of the most talked about examples of modern furniture design. The exceptional visual impact...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Post-Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFoam, Fabric
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.