Collab - Gaetano Pesce: Pushing the Limits

Gaetano Pesce: Pushing the Limits

November 18 through April 9, 2006

The Philadelphia Museum of Art
Contemporary Design Gallery (170)
Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street
www.philamuseum.org
215 763 - 8100

Design Excellence Award and Lecture
Friday, November 18, 6:00 pm
Reception immediately following at Daroff Design
$125 per person (includes Award presentation and Lecture)

Internationally acclaimed for his innovative designs incorporating non-standard production processes and the latest materials developed through new technology, Gaetano Pesce (b.1939) will collaborate with the Philadelphia Museum of Art in November to create his first museum exhibition in the United States in nearly a decade. The exhibit will feature some 20 examples of the designer’s work with furniture and interior design over the past five decades. Pesce’s multidisciplinary work in design, visual art, architecture, and planning has pushed material and technological experimentation beyond its limits. From his famous UP series of polyurethane foam chairs in the late 60’s to his experiments with resin from the 1980’s to the present, he has constantly explores the relationship between material and form in a unique and authentic body of work.

"Nobody's Perfect" Chair
Designed 2002, made 2003 (gold/red chair)
Polyurethane-based resin, nylon pins
Designed by Gaetano Pesce, Italian, born 1939
Made by Quattrocchio S.r.L., Alessandria, Italy
Gift of Collab: The Group for Modern and Contemporary Design at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2003

"Nobody's Perfect" Table
Designed 2002, made 2003 (table)
Polyurethane-based resin, nylon pins
Designed by Gaetano Pesce, Italian, born 1939
Made by Quattrocchio S.r.L., Alessandria, Italy
Gift of Collab: The Group for Modern and Contemporary Design at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2003

13th Annual Student Design Competition
Monday, November 14,3:00 pm
Discussion session and reception to follow
Free and open to the public

The theme of this year's Student Design Competition is variance, inspired by Gaetano Pesce’s contributions to design through his unique approach. Students will develop a full-scale functional prototype of a flower vase supported by a presentation board that demonstrates the use of variance in the manufacturing process.

The top five (5) entries will receive monetary awards and be recognized during the Gaetano Pesce exhibition. Winning projects will be on display in the window at Daffy’s at 1700 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia for several weeks following the competition.