Italian Designer, Gaetano Pesce Dies Aged 84

Italian designer and architect Gaetano Pesce, known for his playful, brightly colored furniture, has passed away at the age of 84, his official Instagram page announced on Thursday.

Gaetano had been dealing with “health-related setbacks”, particularly in the last year, but had “remained positive, playful and ever curious”, the statement said.

“It is with a heavy heart we announce the passing of visionary creator Gaetano Pesce. Over six decades, Gaetano revolutionized the worlds of art, design, architecture, and the liminal spaces between these categories. His originality and nerve are matched by none.”

Among Pesce’s most iconic designs were the “Up” chairs, a series of pliable, anthropomorphic seats in foam and stretch fabric.

The most famous of these evoked the form of a voluptuous woman, tethered to a spherical footstool, intended to evoke the subjugation of women by men.

Pesce is survived by his children, family “and all who adored him”, the statement said, adding that “His uniqueness, creativity and special message live on through his art”.

Born in La Spezia in 1939, Pesce studied architecture in Venice and went on to teach in Strasbourg, France, for 28 years, but also in Pittsburgh, Milan, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo, and New York.

He made New York City his home in 1980, but his work is featured in the permanent collections of museums all over the world, from MoMA to London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and the Pompidou Centre in Paris.