The world of design and architecture still mourns the loss of Gaetano Pesce, an Italian visionary whose half-century career defied convention and categorization.
Born in La Spezia in 1939, Pesce was a pioneer of the radical design movement and with his peers, he was part of the pos WWII Italian wave called “Art Povera”.
Gaetano told all of us stories of his childhood: his father died on WWII as an ltalian officer at sea. His mother, moved from La Spezia, located in Northwest Italy to Venezia, when he was approximately 4 years old. Gaetano always said he grew up surrounded by women.
The first time Gaetano tasted an orange, he was given one by a Nazi officer that occupied Italia during WWII. He was very found of the Jewish faith as he experienced first hand what they went through while growing up.
I stayed with him until the end and I have the best of memories. Gaetano Pesce filled a gap on my life. I have no family in US and he was my friend, father figure, boss, captain and the king. We had a lovely relationship. He was in many ways exactly like my father, my grandmother and uncles. We are Italians.
I yelled plenty at Gaetano when he needed to hear me. And he did. We went to dinner, watched movies, danced on his apartment. Gaetano cooked the best pastas at home. Better than any Italian restaurant I went to in NY or even Italy. I gave him plenty of ideas to his art and shows. He used my face and my body in some of those pieces. I learned how to make jewelry with him, drawings, I finished his models and prototypes. An unforgettable relationship between and artist and an apprentice/muse/model/artist.
I gave all I had to that relationship. I had immense love from him and also got a lot of Italian fury back.
Gaetano blended art, architecture, and industrial design with an inventive, humanistic outlook. His work was characterized by a joyous and experimental use of color and materials, particularly resins and polymers, challenging the rigid principles of mid-twentieth-century modernism.
From his famous “UP” armchair series for B&B Italia to the distinct Organic Building in Osaka, Gaetano never stopped experimenting, leaving behind a legacy that is both playful and deeply conceptual, often using his creations to assert connections between the individual and society. Sometimes one takes life as it unfolds. I had magical moments with Gaetano in NYC and Italy, Europe in Brazil.
Women loved Gaetano Pesce and he loved them. He was a traditional gentleman, male, strait and very charming. I was Gaetano’s wing woman when necessary, and he told me all his stories: family, friends and lovers. Once you are friends with who you work with, you know it all, To Americans, who understand the term, I called myself “working wife” as I was with him 24/7, and I loved spending time with him.
Pesce’s profound influence and his belief that design was a powerful form of communication, a tool to address social issues and infuse everyday objects with meaning. He taught generations of students across the globe, urging them to practice design as an art form that directly impacts people’s lives.
His originality and dedication to pushing boundaries meant that his oeuvre was proudly incoherent and constantly evolving, ensuring he remained a celebrated iconoclast until his death in New York City on April 3, 2024, at the age of 84. His spirit of experimentation and the courage to break rules will continue to inspire creators for years to come.
I went to hear Gaetano Pesce talk numerous times with other Italians in NYC, and Matilda Cuomo was always there, as she is the wife of the late NY Governor Mario Cuomo. Gaetano always closed the arguments with jokes. We are foreigners and not political correct. Here is an example of how Gaetano, talked to students, made everyone laugh on the room and still inspires everyone not to follow society’s rigid norms:
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