Gaetano Pesce

The definitive volume on Gaetano Pesce’s incomparable life and career, as told in the 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 belonging to any of them, Pesce’s singular practice has remained steadfastly provocative, defying convention, utility, and good taste.

Glenn Adamson, the acclaimed curator and writer, conducted the wide-ranging interview with Pesce on which this book is based, drawing out new stories and insights, as well as providing an introduction that thoroughly contextualizes Pesce’s unique position in contemporary art and design. As postmodern design has become increasingly desirable, interest in Pesce has grown with renewed exhibition activity and critical attention, and his work has become even more valuable and collectible.

In this long overdue summary co-published with Salon 94, Pesce looks back at his incomparable and wildly inventive career, recounting his life and practice in his own words.

‘Presented in an inventive dust jacket - the closest thing to poured resin that the publishers could create - it looks like a work of art in itself. . . [an] admirable book.’ – The World of Interiors

‘This hefty coffee table book, with its glowing cover, goes straight to the top of the pile.’ – FT How to Spend It

‘In Gaetano Pesce: The Complete Incoherence, the artist and designer recounts his own life and career in 20 chapters and over 300 glossy pages. Beautiful archival photographs accompany the text, which is searingly honest and often emotional.’ – AIR MAIL

‘Italian multihyphenate architect and designer Gaetano Pesce opens the door to his thrilling career in this colorful new volume. The book, written by curator and writer Glenn Adamson, serves as a guidebook to a visionary who has created some of the most intriguing (and outrageous) furniture and objects in design history.’ – Elle Decor

‘Glenn Adamson captures the work, ethos and practice of Gaetano Pesce in all of his vibrant, colorful provocation and inventive perspective.’ – Cool Hunting

‘A lavishly-illustrated book . . . [the] definitive monograph that not only covers Pesce’s career in fastidious and all-encompassing detail, but provides the closest one can get to understanding the iconoclastic design pioneer in his entirety.’ – Vogue

‘In a stunning monograph that compiles interviews with the artist by curator and historian Glenn Adamson, Pesce’s elusive genius achieves recognition for the undefinable and revolutionary status it deserves.’ – FREDERIC

‘The book is rich in image and color. [Pesce’s] playful approach to materiality is evident too – the sleeve arrives in a multihued transparent film, which transforms the white-covered book into a kaleidoscopic hardback.’ – Hypebeast

‘[A] much-anticipated monograph. . . The Complete Incoherence carries Pesce’s essence – his transgressive voice and unorthodox eye.’ – Document Journal

‘This visual feast tells the story of one of the 20th century’s most intriguing creative figures. . . lavishly illustrated with images of the artist’s work, plus never-before-seen archive material.’ – ELLE Decoration

‘Chronicles the provocative career of Gaetano Pesce . . . [and] presents a captivating dialogue between Pesce and design curator and author Glenn Adamson.’ – designboom

‘The book effectively functions as a career retrospective and life story . . . Through its pages, [Pesce’s] lifelong interest in experimentation reveals a practice defined more by a rebellious spirit than a linear evolution of style.’ – Curbed

Glenn Adamson is a curator and writer who works at the intersection of craft, design history, and contemporary art. He was previously director of the Museum of Arts and Design, New York; head of research at the V&A; and curator at the Chipstone Foundation in Milwaukee. Adamson contributes regularly to Art in America and Frieze, and his many publications include Objects: USA 2020 (Monacelli,2021) and Fewer Better Things (2018).

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.

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