At the ripe old age of 75, Italian architect and designer Gaetano Pesce shows no sign whatsoever of slowing down. Now on his plate is a stunning exhibition devoted to his latest work as well as his design, drawings, signature maquettes and drawings harking back to the 1960s at the SoHo Allouche Gallery. 'Gaetano Pesce: One of a Kind Iconic Works 1967-2015' pays homage to his distinctive artistry.
'Gaetano's always been a living legend when it comes to art, architecture, design and sculpture,' says dealer Eric Allouche. 'But this new show will further cement his artistry on the global axis,' he says.
Talk about ahead of the curve oeuvre. Pesce blazed a trail in his use of foam, resin and urethane early on. What else has been the driving force for Pesce, whose work crosses the figurative and abstraction? 'I've always believed that my art must frequently address critical issues of today,' says Pesce. Take his politically charged 1968 UP 5 + 6 Chair, which resembles a huge seated female figure chained to a ball. 'I wanted to demonstrate that women are political prisoners of men,' says Pesce. While the maquette is in foam, the full scale version in wood is also on view.
For him, nothing is cookie cutter. 'Repetition to me is boring and repressive so each example is unique,' he says.
Saturated color is another hallmark of Pesce and a sense of playfulness can be the norm. His 2006 Fish Table evidences that to perfection with the top in the shape of fish drenched in brilliant blue. Then his Fuoco Vase in searing orange and yellow resin approximates a candle dripping wax. 'Color is essential as it's so expressive of emotion,' says Pesce.
Even his lighting is revolutionary. Take his 2013 Kid Lamp with the shade alike a tangle of hair in resin.
Aside from his work in the hallowed halls of such noted museums as the Louvre, London's V & A Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, A-list collectors who have plucked up his work include mega dealers Jeffrey Deitch and Adam Lindemann as well as fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabanna.
With the gallery opening set for this evening, Allouche expects a huge crowd. 'The exhibit will rein in entire new batches of collectors far beyond those who covet design,' he says.
Many of Pesce's have a distinctly poiltics flavour, such as 1968 UP 5 + 6 Chair, which resembles a huge seated female figure chained to a ball, pictured here as a maquette.
Saturated color is a hallmark of Gaetano Pesce's novel approach to design. His tonality runs from sea blues and emerald greens to flaming reds, as in his fiery Fuoco Vase. Courtesy of Gaetano Pesce's Office;
Also on show at the Allouche Gallery is the UP 5 + 6 full-scale chair in wood.
Zoomorphic shapes like his Fish Table, which stretches thirteen feet across, are also part of his quixotic vocabulary.
The 2013 Kid Lamp, with its hair-like tangle of resin as a shade. Courtesy of Gaetano Pesce's Office;
Dealer Eric Allouche has paired Pesce's design with his works on paper like the 1977 'Church of Solitude' with its cloud-like forms, one of which is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
ADDRESS
115 Spring Street
New York, NY 10012
-
Put these emerging artists on your radarThis crop of six new talents is poised to shake up the art world. Get to know them now
-
Dining at Pyrá feels like a Mediterranean kiss on both cheeksDesigned by House of Dré, this Lonsdale Road addition dishes up an enticing fusion of Greek and Spanish cooking
-
Creased, crumpled: S/S 2025 menswear is about clothes that have ‘lived a life’The S/S 2025 menswear collections see designers embrace the creased and the crumpled, conjuring a mood of laidback languor that ran through the season – captured here by photographer Steve Harnacke and stylist Nicola Neri for Wallpaper*
-
Leonard Baby's paintings reflect on his fundamentalist upbringing, a decade after he left the churchThe American artist considers depression and the suppressed queerness of his childhood in a series of intensely personal paintings, on show at Half Gallery, New York
-
Desert X 2025 review: a new American dream grows in the Coachella ValleyWill Jennings reports from the epic California art festival. Here are the highlights
-
This rainbow-coloured flower show was inspired by Luis Barragán's architectureModernism shows off its flowery side at the New York Botanical Garden's annual orchid show.
-
‘Psychedelic art palace’ Meow Wolf is coming to New YorkThe ultimate immersive exhibition, which combines art and theatre in its surreal shows, is opening a seventh outpost in The Seaport neighbourhood
-
Wim Wenders’ photographs of moody Americana capture the themes in the director’s iconic films'Driving without a destination is my greatest passion,' says Wenders. whose new exhibition has opened in New York’s Howard Greenberg Gallery
-
20 years on, ‘The Gates’ makes a digital return to Central ParkThe 2005 installation ‘The Gates’ by Christo and Jeanne-Claude marks its 20th anniversary with a digital comeback, relived through the lens of your phone
-
In ‘The Last Showgirl’, nostalgia is a drug like any otherGia Coppola takes us to Las Vegas after the party has ended in new film starring Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl
-
‘American Photography’: centuries-spanning show reveals timely truthsAt the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Europe’s first major survey of American photography reveals the contradictions and complexities that have long defined this world superpower
