Gaetano Pesce | The Fish That Swam Upstream

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Architect, designer and urban planner, the life and work of creative powerhouse Gaetano Pesce was an incredibly varied and proudly eccentric one. With a career spanning nearly sixty years, he continually revolutionised and redefined modern design through his humanistic philosophy, bold use of colour and unconventional material choices. Pesce believed deeply in connecting the individual to society through the mediums of art and architecture to improve and change the way people lived in the mid-twentieth century. Ultimately, he wished for a better global community despite the chaos of the world, a message that is still pertinent today.

^{Gaetano Pesce (Italian, 1939-2024) for Fish Design - Left/Centre: two 'Amazonia' vases (£200-400), Right: a 'Medusa' vase (£300-500)}

Pesce was born in La Spezia in 1939 and studied architecture at the University of Venice where he was taught by notable figures such as Carlo Scarpa and Ernesto Rogers. Between 1958 and 1963, he was an active member of 'Gruppo N', styled as an early design collective and modelled on the blueprint of the Bauhaus. The group considered the subject of art was the user, and that the individual who used the work was as equally important as the maker.¹ Although he trained as an architect, it was in industrial design that he made a significant cultural breakthrough.

Pesce studied the forms and functions of ergonomic and decorative objects, furniture, jewellery and shoes but from the viewpoint of human emotion and the environment. These ideas culminated in the creation of the 'Up' and 'Up 5_6' armchairs. A uniquely feminist and curvaceous piece, it was designed after the female form with a ball ottoman representing the child tethered to its mother with a cord, simultaneously comforted and yet imprisoned. According to curator and author of SuperDesign, Maria Cristina Didero, 'Pesce wanted to produce something about the condition of women in the world. The chair can be read as the mother, and the stool her child. But it could also be a ball and chain (suggesting) woman and the prison she was obliged to live in.'²

Another iconic design was the 'I Feltri' chair, created in 1987 and produced by Cassina, it was first unveiled to the public at the Milan Furniture Fair in the same year as part of a display focused on material experimentation. Crafted entirely from thick wool felt, the bottom section was coated in a resin-stiffened wool and is a technique patented by Cassina. The back can be folded down or alternately wrapped around the sitter to cocoon them. The idea was to create an object that evoked the feel of clothing.

^{Gaetano Pesce (Italian, 1939-2024) for Cassina, an 'I Feltri' chair, designed 1986 (Sold for £1,040)}

Perhaps Pesce's most pre-eminent works were his creations in resin. A multitude of items were cast in resin by Pesce including vases, chairs, lamps and reliefs dubbed as 'industrial skins'.³ In the mid-1990s, the company 'Fish Design' (taken from the English translation of Gaetano's surname) was founded in New York and the venture focused on employing the themes of the double functionality of architecture within the objects, the use of colour as the 'politic dimension' as well as the culture of objects. By 2003, Pesce had met with Andrea Corsi who continued the production of these resin items and still does.

Although Pesce had designed many items in resin, vases were always a mainstay of the technique, mostly mixing translucent and opaque textures which emulated more traditional materials such as ceramic or glass. His early works as a student were even inspired by three famous experimental glassmakers, Carlo Morretti, Luciano Vistosi and Paolo Venini, ultimately informing his very own casting techniques.⁴ This fascination with glass would lead Pesce to form a longstanding collaboration with Cirva Glass works, a French studio set up in 1983 which acts almost as a research laboratory, inviting artists, designers and architects to work with glass.

^{Gaetano Pesce (Italian, 1939-2024) for Cirva Glass Works, a vessel (£1,500-2,500)}

Bubbling away under the surface of Pesce's designs is a strong socio-political narrative which is prevalent in pieces such as the 'Sessantuna' table from 2010 which featured a series of 61 unique tables that when combined form the 'boot' shape of Italy, symbolising the 150th anniversary of the unification of the country in 1861.⁵

The environment was another prevalent theme in his work also and can be seen in objects such as the 'Vesuvio' coffee maker designed for Zani & Zani in 1992. It was modelled on the volcanic landscape of Naples, taking its form from a mountain whose top has collapsed to form a crater. Rather than being abstract, the design is a direct response to the functionality of the coffee maker. The pressure builds with increased heat and pushes hot water up through the coffee grounds simulating a controlled and small eruption. Through objects such as this, Pesce playfully reminds us of the importance of nature and the worlds we live in through everyday rituals.

^{Gaetano Pesce (Italian, 1939-2024), a 'Vessuvio percolator' designed in 1988 for Zani & Zani (Sold for £338)}

Other recent collaborations Pesce has worked on include a capsule collection of sandals and footwear with Brazilian brand Melissa who create shoes made from 100% recyclable PVC. Even up until his death in 2024, Pesce had also worked on an immersive space for Bottega Veneta's spring/summer 2023 fashion show. The runway was decorated with a sizeable poured-resin floor in all manner of vivid colours and 400 individually designed chairs adorned the edges of the catwalk. Pesce said of the set and Bottega Veneta, 'As a designer, I make originals, not standardised series, that's the old way – this is the new way… And this is a fashion company that did a fantastic job in helping me realise such a project. It is a message that is super political – and it is not a museum or a gallery that is helping me convey it. Who makes culture today? The museum or the fashion company? It is food for the brain – not for pay. If we see the same thing each day, then we die.'⁶

Ever the maverick and full of surprises, Gaetano Pesce continues to inspire young designers and creatives the world over and Sworders is pleased to offer a collection of his works in our April Design sale.

^{All sold prices shown include fees}

_{¹ Giulio Carlo Argan. Modern Art: 1770-1970. Sansoni. 2002.
² Ray Edgar. Melbourne Design Week celebrates a feverish period for Italy’s radicals. The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 February 2018. https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/melbourne-design-week-celebrates-a-feverish-period-for-italys-radicals-20180223-h0wjfz.html
³ Gareth Williams. The Furniture Machine: Furniture Since 1990. V&A Publishing. 2006
⁴ Christopher Wyrick. MOCA Pacific Design Centre Honors “Disruptor” Artist Gaetano Pesce. The Hollywood Reporter. 8 September 2016. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/moca-pacific-design-center-honors-926785/
⁵ Rose Etherington. Sessantuna by Gaetano Pesce for Cassina. Deezen. 30 June 2010. https://www.dezeen.com/2010/06/30/sessantuna-by-gaetano-pesce-for-cassina/
⁶ Jack Moss. A closer look at Gaetano Pesce’s colourful set for Bottega Veneta. Wallpaper. 14 October 2022. https://www.wallpaper.com/fashion/a-closer-look-gaetano-pesce-colourful-set-bottega-veneta-ss23/}

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