Gaetano Pesce (1939–2024)

Gaetano Pesce was one of the most disruptive and unclassifiable voices in contemporary design. Architect, artist, and designer, his work moved between functionality and provocation, challenging the conventions of industrial design with a deeply emotional, experimental, and expressive aesthetic.

Trained in architecture at the IUAV University of Venice, Pesce was among the first to introduce plastics, resins, and polyurethanes into furniture design as a means of artistic expression. In his creations, each object is unique due to the inherent nature of the materials and production process—imperfections, vibrant colors, and irregular forms are not flaws, but affirmations of identity.

His collaboration with C&B Italia (now B&B Italia) led to his most iconic creation: the UP5_6 armchair, also known as La Mamma (1969)—a soft, voluptuous sculpture referencing the female figure and the historic oppression of women, symbolized by a ball-and-chain attached to the seat. This piece not only revolutionized the formal language of furniture but also imbued it with symbolic and political depth.

Pesce worked with renowned manufacturers such as Cassina, Vitra, Zanotta, Bernini, Meritalia, and Baxter, and his work has been exhibited in institutions like MoMA, the Centre Pompidou, and the Vitra Design Museum. His legacy defies the dogma of rationalist design, championing diversity, imperfection, and the human component as essential values of contemporary living.