Gaetano Pesce: The Complete Incoherence

The definitive volume on Gaetano Pesce's incomparable life and career, as told in the iconoclastic artist-designer’s own words.In a category all his own, Gaetano Pesce is widely considered one of the most important, and elusive, creative figures of the last half century. Bridging numerous key art and design movements, while never truly belonging to any of them, Pesce’s singular practice has remained steadfastly provocative, defying widely held notions of convention, utility, and good taste.  Yet as New York magazine demonstrated in its feature on the “Pope of Gloop” upon the opening of his recent solo show at acclaimed gallery Salon 94, the world has arguably caught up to Gaetano Pesce. Now in his eighth decade, Pesce recounts his life and career to renowned design curator and critic Glenn Adamson, generating discussion conducted over several years that is as informative as it is surprising. Discussing his incomparable decades-long career—which includes the creation of the classic articles of his UP series, the effusively postmodern design for Chiat/Day’s headquarters, and countless works of furniture and design objects in his signature poured resin—Pesce shares his wide-ranging thoughts on art, design, and architecture.  Always forward-looking, Pesce’s process of reinterpreting and transforming the premises of modern design to create idiosyncratic and deeply personal works beat a path for multidisciplinary design practice seen everywhere today. Particularly in his exploration of introducing imperfections, if not “defects,” into the traditionally uniform systems of mass fabrication, Pesce turns out to be much more of a prophet of modern design than a curious detractor.  Gaetano Pesce: The Complete Incoherence is the long overdue summary of an irreverent, wildly inventive career that should inspire practitioners across all creative disciplines.