Lot 475
GAETANO PESCE (ITALIAN, 1939-2024) FOR MERITALIA §
'LA SMORFIA' ART CHAIR, 2003
Auction: Day Two | Lots 100 to 527 | Fri 31 October from 10am
Description
red and black lacquered and coated rigid semi-expanding foam, plastic and polyurethane
Dimensions
110cm high, 90cm wide, 70cm deep (43 3/8in high, 35 3/8in wide, 27 ½in deep)
Provenance
Acquired directly from Meritalia by the present owner in 2003.
Footnote
Gaetano Pesce was born in 1939 in La Spezia, Italy. He studied architecture at the University of Venice and started working in the sixties, strongly influenced by the social movements of this period. The work and lessons of the architect Carlo Scarpa and the writer Bruno Zevi were also important to him. His work is characterised by an interdisciplinary approach to architecture, design and art.
His works are in the most important museums and collections over the world: the Museum of Modern Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in California and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. A retrospective of his work was shown in 1996 at the Centre Pompidou, Paris.
The present work characterises his interdisciplinary approach. The text printed on the piece reads, "Italy is the one region in Europe whose sole natural resource is the creativity of its inhabitants. Today this wealth is mainly expressed through cooking, fashion and the "design" of the objects associated with these two sectors. Those who appear impervious to an understanding of this wealth have been, and still are, local administrators and politicians. If the government were to efficiently aid creativity and research, the country would benefit in economic and cultural terms. The prestige of products "Made in Italy" is largely due to the curiosity of Italian businessmen. Their commitment is on the wane today. Many creative persons as for instance architects express themselves within the traditional limits of the form. But the culture of objects and architecture have become mature expressions that contribute to testify the essence of our time. This means, in general, less fashion and style but more freshness in our technical, commercial and expressive processes and use of materials. Less nostalgia and an indiscriminate respect for History, and more confidence in and curiosity for the future. Otherwise our life may become duller due to repetitiveness, monotony and a lack of novelty. Just now it is raining in our world. But the sun will soon shine again. Gaetano Pesce February 2003."
