Pesce gained international recognition with the "UP" series of furniture, which he developed in 1969. Mass-produced, the chairs were vacuum-packed in flat cardboard boxes, which solved some of the problems of storage and shipping. Pesce designed seven models to satisfy different users: from small children's chairs to sofas for two. The 'UP 5' or 'Donna' model has been part of our auctions several times. The irony in the design is obvious at first glance: the shape of the chair alludes to the curves of the female body, ironically referring to the socially defined role of women.
Dozens of Pesce's designs are dedicated to working with synthetic resin. Among them are numerous decorative objects: Vases, wall clocks, bowls that rarely go unnoticed. Pesce draws, twists, and weaves thin threads of resin, shapes the resin like plasticine, or pours it and lets it run out flat to become a tabletop. Many of these objects have appeared in our auctions. An exciting example is the unique 190 cm long table "Sansone I" from 1980, which was sold for the high estimate in 2017. Due to the fact that production always depends on the craftsman, each table is unique. The 'Sansone' tables can not only have different dimensions and heights, but also different colors - a metaphor for Pesce's destruction of existing design canons. The 'Sansone' table, which contradicts the production standards, together with the 'Dalila' chairs, form the dining room group, which is a reference to the love story of Samson and Dalila and Samson's destruction of the pillars of the Philistine temple.
Gaetano Pesce worked with many Italian manufacturers. However, he always values his freedom. He developed and tested prototypes in his studios in Venice, Paris or New York, and only then presented the models to the manufacturer of his choice. As a result, his furniture was always produced by different furniture companies: Green Street Chair (1984) by Vitra, I Feltri (1987) by Cassina, Nobody's Perfect (2002) by Zerodisegno, and others. Some of them have been successfully auctioned at Quittenbaum, others will hopefully come to us in the future.
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