Gaetano Pesce, Resin Table, L'Abbraccio Collection, Le Fablier, Italy, 2010
View Similar Items
Gaetano Pesce, Resin Table, L'Abbraccio Collection, Le Fablier, Italy, 2010
About the Item
- Creator:Gaetano Pesce (Designer),Le Fablier (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 50.79 in (129 cm)Width: 50.79 in (129 cm)Depth: 30.32 in (77 cm)
- Style:Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2010
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Milan, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU214036419433
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.
- Carrara Marble Coffee Table Tavolo Brecciato Model by Paolo Ulian for Le FablierBy Paolo Ulian, Le FablierLocated in Milan, ItalyModular coffee table made of white Carrara marble. On single large sheet is defiantly split on the inside into four fragments. Formed out of a combination of four elements which can ...Category
2010s Italian Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCarrara Marble
- Armchair and Footstool UP5_6 by Gaetano Pesce for Superego Editions, ItalyBy Superego Editions, Gaetano PesceLocated in Milan, ItalyA large patinated bronze armchair casted with lost wax method with spherical footstool also known by the name 'Donna', foam model designed in 1969 by C & B, from 2012 limited edition...Category
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsBronze
- Desk by Alchimia Redesign Collection, ItalyBy Gruppo AlchimiaLocated in Milan, ItalyProject by Alessandro Guerriero with a hand painted decoration by Paolo Euchaurren on a desk by Gio Ponti. Redesign collection. Unique piece. Wood and acrylic decoration on wood. Exh...Category
Early 2000s Italian Modern Center Tables
MaterialsWood
- Table Infinito Model by Gruppo Alchimia, ItalyBy Gruppo AlchimiaLocated in Milan, ItalyInfinito table in laminated wood by Gruppo Alchimia, circa 2000. Exhibited at the show Alchimismo, Frigoriferi Milanesi, Milan 2011. Biography: In 1976 Alessandro and Adriana Gu...Category
Early 2000s Italian Modern Center Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Kernel Model Table by Gio Minelli for Superego Editions, ItalyBy Giovanni Minelli, Superego EditionsLocated in Milan, ItalyThe pink Kernel table is a unique piece made entirely by hand by the designer. Completely built in Glebanite, a special blend of recycled and recyclable fiberglass. An artistic work of circular economy that takes care of the planet earth and our future. Its organic shaped base resembles a primitive bark, a lava stone. The resin glass makes the work very resistant and can also be used outdoors. Biography Gio...Category
2010s Italian Modern Center Tables
MaterialsFiberglass
- Kernel Table Model by Giò Minelli for Superego Editions, ItalyBy Giovanni Minelli, Superego EditionsLocated in Milan, ItalyTable from the Kernel series is a unique piece made entirely by hand by the designer. Completely built in Glebanite, a special blend of recycled and recyclable fiberglass. An artisti...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Center Tables
MaterialsFiberglass
- Gaetano Pesce, Nobody's Perfect Zerodesegno Dining Table, Multicolor ResinBy Gaetano PesceLocated in Kansas City, MORare and exceptional Gaetano Pesce Nobody's Perfect Zerodesegno dining table. Tubular resin legs support a sturdy resin grid top with a resin "tab...Category
Early 2000s American Post-Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsResin
- Gaetano Pesce Tavolone TableBy Gaetano PesceLocated in Naples, FLExceptionally rare. Exceptional colors. 1in thick resin top, poured over a steel grid. Through the manipulation of resin the shape of a face is achieved. A monumental museum worthy w...Category
Early 2000s Italian Post-Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
$75,000 - Coffee Table by Gaetano Pesce, Italy, 1990sBy Gaetano PesceLocated in Antwerp, BEMemphis Style; Gaetano Pesce; Modern; Postmodern; Italy; Modernism; Free Form; Organic Design; 1990s; Organic coffee table by Gaetano Pesce...Category
1990s Italian Post-Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- "Swamp Table" by Gaetano Pesce, Multicolor, Wood, Italy 1993By Gaetano PesceLocated in New York, NYDuring his career, that spans four decades with commissions in architecture, urban planning, interior, exhibition and industrial design, Gaetano Pesce, the architect and designer, has conceived public and private projects in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia. In all his work, he expresses his guiding principle: that modernism is less a style than a method for interpreting the present and hinting at the future in which individuality is preserved and celebrated. Born in La Spezia, Italy, in 1939, Pesce studied Architecture at the University of Venice between 1958-1963 and was a participant in Gruppo N...Category
1990s European Post-Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsWood
Price Upon Request - Gaetano Pesce Broadway Dining Set, Bernini 1993, cast resin, postmodernBy Gaetano PesceLocated in Brooklyn, NY“543 Broadway” is a unique and unrepeatable chair, as the colors interact with resin and mix each time in an unexpected way, giving birth always to new compositions. At the base of P...Category
1990s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Sets
MaterialsMetal, Stainless Steel
- Le Ludé Home Collection, Bears, Coffee Table 100cmLocated in Cabiate, ITCoffee Table in multilayer veneered Oak B milled vertically dark matt stained with metal profile in finish LUNA TOPAZIO all around. Metal details in sprayed finish in the upper part....Category
21st Century and Contemporary Center Tables
MaterialsMarble, Tôle
$6,592 / item
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.