Nearly fifty years after the opening of this landmark art exhibition, Age of Contaminations at Friedman Benda looked back on Gaetano Pesce’s legacy as a provocateur, rule-breaker, and essential influence on the evolution of contemporary design.




During the month of December, Friedman Benda was pleased to present a critical survey of the Italian architect, designer, and visionary Gaetano Pesce, examining the pivotal period of his career from 1968 to 1995.
Age of Contaminations brings together rarely seen iconic works from key historic collections and groundbreaking early prototypes that have been assembled over the past decade. A true honor homage to his modern art pieces and furniture design.



By refusing to adhere to traditional boundaries between architecture art, sculpture, and conceptual art, Pesce’s cross-contamination between genres consequentially altered the landscape of design and was a catalyst for the establishment of the contemporary studio practice.
“I wanted to make people understand that creativity resides in rejecting previously seen models, and this proceeds in the absence of repetition…It’s a first step toward creativity, inspiring people to make an autonomous gesture, a different one each time,”
said Gaetano Pesce during a 1991 interview.

See Also: Friedman Benda Presents Art Objects that Play with Forms



Age of Contaminations featured a grouping of rare Yeti Armchairs (1968), the first armchair Gaetano Pesce produced, the iconic “Moloch” Floor Lamp (1970-1), his inaugural collaboration with the manufacturer Bracciodiferro, and the earliest example of his groundbreaking Golgotha Table (1972).



A merge of art and design that you have never seen, that utterly honors the artist and that I Lobo You is proud to show you everything that happened inside of Friedman Benda gallery’s walls.
As seen displayed on this art exhibition at Friedman Benda art gallery, the most iconic modern art piece that Gaetano Pesce has ever created was the Up Chair. Let’s take a look at some of the most iconic versions of this creation:




See Also: “Blow Up” at Friedman Benda – Furniture Art for an Adult Dollhouse
