On March 20, 2022, Italian national treasure designer Gaetano Peche's solo exhibition "Gaetano Pesce: Nobody's Perfect" opened at the Today Art Museum, which will last until June 30.
Gaetano Pecher is a legendary architect, designer and artist. His work spans architecture, urban planning, interior design, industrial design and exhibition design. Adhering to the pioneering design concept and universal care, he has made a profound impact in various fields with his colorful, versatile and creative works.
The exhibition presents nearly 100 unique works by Pecher spanning more than half a century, covering a wide range of furniture, product design, architectural models, resin paintings, installations and video reproductions, documents and other media, to build a colorful world of whimsy for the audience.
Showroom scene
In the second-floor exhibition hall of today Art Museum, the audience will meet Pecher "himself", followed by two important works by Pecher: the Up chair and the Pratt chair. Pesche's early work on resin chairs and his well-known designs appear in the main hall on the second floor. The exhibition hall on the third floor uses documents, models and a large number of manuscripts to show the audience Pecher's thinking and exploration in the field of architecture.
Zhang Ran, Director of Today Art Museum
Zhang Ran, Director of Today Art Museum, said, "Mr. Gaetano Pecher opened up a unique and beautiful path in the Italian design field in the 1960s with his personality and unique design style. He is fully experimental in his design, and in more than half a century of design and art, he has never stopped exploring innovation. His global experience, enduring creativity, and deep concern for social issues have earned him a reputation at the international phenomenal level. ”
Imperfection is not a mistake
In Paicher's view, imperfection is the manifestation of human nature. Although we come from different regions, we have different cultures and different positions. But all men are created equally free, and there are no differences in gender, race, identity, etc. As he himself put it, "Difference is a quality, not a mistake." Being able to keep different also proves that you are an independent individual. ”
Chair 94×48×43 cm Resin, pigment 2002-2019
Pratt chair Pecher Private Edition 94×48×50 cm Resin 1984-2019
Crosby children's chair 51×42×33 cm resin 2021
Since 2002, Pecher has been working on the "No One Is Perfect" series, in which the chair works depict different portraits in abstract forms. These figures have different identities, faces and emotions, showing the diversity of beings in a colorful world. It is very interesting that each work in the series has a "birth certificate" signed by the creator after it is completed, which is a humanized identity-giving act that injects a warm soul into the original cold object, making it "alive" in an instant. Peche records these diverse people, and it is the existence of these "different" individuals that proves the richness of the world.
Lifting female confinement
The idea of speaking up for women has always flowed in Pecher's blood, which is closely related to his upbringing growing up with the care and companionship of his mother, cousin and grandmother. He said, "Women have an inclusive quality, are very resilient, and do not hesitate to give. I learned a lot from them. ”
Pecher not only tends to embody femininity in his designs, but also often expresses his idea of equal rights on different occasions. "Up5_6 Armchair" is an important work representing Pecher's idea of female care, and has also been hailed as "one of the most famous chairs of the 20th century". Since its debut at the Furniture Fair in Milan, Italy, in 1969, this collection has become a landmark in the history of design.
UP5_6 Armchair 101×110× 114 cm 57 cm ball Wood, Iron 1969
In the creation, Pecher connects the Up5, which imitates the female body, with the ball-shaped footstool Up6 with a rope, pointing to the current situation where women's freedom is still imprisoned, and calling for society to lift this restraint as soon as possible. Many celebrities throughout history have also been loyal fans of this work, such as the artist Dalí and the fashion designer Pierre Cardin. The exhibition features the first wooden model of the chair from 1969.
Use innovation to turn the future into the present
What is innovation? Pecher's answer is that innovation is about turning the future into the present. His innovative spirit in design is reflected in materials, shapes, colors, concepts, etc. Among them, the creative experiment and research of resin materials is one of his important work contents, and he has been constantly experimenting to expand his understanding of resin as a material. He uses the random flow characteristics and blending effects of the resin material to give his works unique colors and textures, giving each piece a unique shape.
Artist self-portrait bookshelf 179×75×245 cm resin 2019
Tree vase 60×56×56 cm resin, condensed pulp 2015
Footprint 83×241 cm resin 2014
The Pratt chair is an artist's experiment to find out whether there is a dividing line between art and design. In this experiment, the shape of all chairs is due to the different chemical proportions of the resin material itself. In addition to the chair, Pecher also applies resin materials to the design of works such as vases and table lamps, constantly breaking down the barriers of traditional materials and bringing new life to the works.
Practitioner of environmental protection concept
Pecher cherished nature, and in his view, "the naturally formed, objectively existing life is the most beautiful." His design ideas often draw inspiration from nature, while reflecting the environmental problems in real life that need to be improved. In the exhibition, we present Pecher's many design works related to the theme of "environmental protection", which dialogue with natural occurrence in abstract or figurative shapes, arousing public attention to ecological issues.
Organic Architecture (Photography) 50×76 cm HD micro-spray on photo paper 1989-1993
Among them, "organic architecture" is the seminal design of Pecher as an architect in 1989-1993, and this building became the world's first vertical garden. The lush surface of the building is 132 species of native plants and trees, which can effectively alleviate the heat island effect in the city and show Pecher's practical ability in the field of environmental protection.
The constructor of "humanized" buildings
Pecher studied at the School of Architecture in his early years. With documents, models and a large number of manuscripts, this exhibition presents Pecher's identity as an architect and shows his thinking and work in the field of architecture.
Church of Solitude (longitudinal profile) 150×108 cm Watercolor, ink, color ink, gouache, graphite paper, 1974-1977
The Church of Solitude is a series of architectural projects conceived by the artist in 1974, symbolizing a "sanctuary" for urbanites, while another group of works, Bahia Hut, is an architectural experiment by Peche in Brazil that combines local nature and humanities, where he built Bahia Hut and incorporated many local Brazilian materials.
In addition, many of Pecher's cutting-edge and exploratory architectural design ideas, such as the "Oklahoma Memorial Manuscript", "Multilobial Architecture Manuscript", "Reconstruction of the World Trade Center Manuscript" and other precious manuscripts also appeared in the exhibition. I believe that every audience member who walks into the exhibition hall will have his own unique interpretation of this Italian designer who does not play cards according to common sense.
(The image in this article is courtesy of Gaetano Pecher Studio, and the relevant information is provided by today Art Museum.) ）
Nandu reporter Huang Qian