GAETANO PESCE
b. ITALY, 1939

FANTASTIC PANTRY DOOR SCULPTURE MADE FOR TBWA/CHIAT/DAY ADVERTISING AGENCY INSTALLATION 1994 

 68.75 x 14.5 x .75 inches.

POLYMER/COMPOSITE AND RESIN

This beautifully, unique pantry door was created by the famed artist and designer Gaetano Pesce for the offices of the TBWA/Chiat/Day advertising agency, famous for their campaigns for companies like Disney and Netflix.  Created as a part of an entire, carefully designed workspace, this pantry door is made of composite and resin, the material with which Pesce has become famous. Crafted in the artist's famous darkly whimsical, abstract style, this work is a compelling piece of modern design history. Featuring a freeform, abstract design and a stunning hand painted finish in blues greens and golds, this gorgeous piece of sculpture is perfect for a modern home.

Gaetano Pesce is principal of the New York City-based international architecture and design firm Pesce Ltd, which undertakes diverse commissions in architecture, urban planning, interior and exhibition design, industrial design and publishing. In more than 30 years of practice, Pesce has conceived public and private projects in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia, from residences to gardens and corporate offices. Pesce's extensive body of work has been recognized for its emotive and tactile qualities, unrestrained use of color, and insistence upon innovative building materials developed through new technologies and has been described by prominent architecture critic Herbert Muschamp as "the architectural equivalent of a brainstorm".

Born in La Spezia, Italy, in 1939, Gaetano Pesce was trained at the University of Venice Faculty of Architecture. He has lived and worked in New York since 1980; previously, he resided in Paris for 15 years, which directly influenced the internationalism of his approach. Pesce has served as a visiting lecturer and professor at many prestigious institutions in America and abroad, including the Cooper Union in New York. He is currently a faculty member at the Institut d'Architecture et d'Etude Urbaines in Strasbourg. His work has been the subject of numerous publications and exhibitions, and in 1996 he was honored with both a comprehensive career retrospective at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the publication of the seminal volume, "Gaetano Pesce: Le temps des questions." Gaetano Pesce was the recipient of the influential Chrysler Award for Innovation and Designin 1993.

On the subject of his work, Pesce recently said: "For the past 30 years, I have been trying to give architecture back its capacity to be 'useful', by quoting recognizable, figurative images commonly associated with street life and popular culture, and by generating new typologies. I strive to seek new materials that fit into the logic of construction, while performing services appropriate to real needs. Architecture of the recent past has mostly produced cold, anonymous, monolithic, antiseptic, standardized results that are uninspiring. I have tried to communicate feelings of surprise, discovery, optimism, stimulation and originality".

Pesce is closely linked with innovative clients such as B&B Italia, Cassina, the Vitra International and has recently just launched a home design collection called Open Sky. His architectural work can be seen across the globe: the Organic Building in Osaka, Japan, the Gallery Mourmans in Knokke-le-Zoute, Belgium, and the Schuman residence in New York.

Representatives

Max Protetch Gallery – 511 West 22nd Street – New York NY, United States

Education

1963 : IUAV Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia – Santa Croce 601 – Venice VE, Italy

Solo exhibitions

2003

La galerie moderne – Paris, France
06/06/2003 – 06/28/2003

1986

Gaetano Pesce : Design & Architecture 1975-1985
MAMCS Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain – Strasbourg, France
05/1986

1975

Le future est peut-être passé ?
Musée des Arts Décoratifs – Paris, France
1975

Art shows / fairs

2007

FIAC Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain
Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais – Paris, France
10/18/2007 – 10/22/2007
Represented by : Galerie Downtown – 33 rue de Seine – Paris, France

1999

SOFA Sculpture Object and Functional Art – Chicago, n°6
Navy Pier’s Festival Hall – Chicago IL, United States
11/05/1999 – 11/07/1999
Represented by : The Orange Chicken – O. Group – 152 Franklin Street – New York NY, United States

Group exhibitions

2003

Inside Design Now – National Design Triennial
National Design Museum – New York NY, United States
2003 – 08/03/2003

Sept Lieux – Sept Matières
Hôtel du Département, Centre d’Art Présence Van Gogh, Château de l’Empéri, Galerie du Conseil Général des Bouches du Rhône, Musée de l’Arles Antique – Marseille, France
10/17/2003 – 01/15/2004

Global Village: The 60s
Musée des Beaux-Arts – Montréal QC, Canada
10/02/2003 – 03/07/2004

2002

Arquitecturas Radicales
CAAM Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno – Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
03/2002

Les portes du design ou l’aventure de l’objet
Grand Hornu Image – Hornu, Belgium
05/16/2002 – 06/30/2002

2001

Arquitecturas Radicales
MUVIM Museo Valenciano de la Ilustración y la Modernidad – Valencia, Spain
2001

1999

Italian Design from the Museum’s Collection
Musée des Beaux-Arts – Montréal QC, Canada
01/19/1999 – 10/03/1999

1998

Selected Works from the Permanent Collection
Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts – Montréal QC, Canada
09/22/1998 – 10/03/1999

1995

Mutant Materials in Contemporary Design
MoMA Museum of Modern Art – New York NY, United States
05/25/1995 – 08/27/1995

1984

Architecture et industrie
MNAM Musée National d’Art Moderne – Centre National d’Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou – Paris, France
1984

68 3/4 x 14 3/4 x 3/4 INCHES

CONDITION EXCELLENT