List of artworks
All works by Gaetano Pesce Courtesy the artist and Salon94 Design, unless otherwise stated
Artist Statement
First of all, I would like to thank the Aspen community for hosting my work. My heartfelt thanks go to the Aspen Art Museum who found a way to create a sincere and innovative exhibition. With this preamble, I would like to introduce my outdoor installation. I have believed for a long time that architecture ought to be an art that respects and represents the place where it is erected. The legacy of International Style continues to exist, producing buildings that at this point belong exclusively to the decorative aspect of things and avoid documenting the reality they inhabit, its identity, geographical location, etc. In other words, many constructions which we call architecture belong instead to the category of edilizia (“building”). This is because the Art of Constructing has lost touch with the diverse realities of the world, and most architects give greater importance to the pursuit of an aesthetic and fashionable image with their projects. Regarding the project for the Aspen Art Museum, I found that its façade made from abstract grids was by no means representative of the magnificent and original nature of this urban site. So, at risk of achieving a kitschy image, I opted for a project that would cover the façade I criticize, replacing it with a view close to the one I admired during the many, memorable periods I spent in Aspen—the first city I visited in the United States in 1971 and where I had the pleasure to return over the years.
My Dear Mountains, 2022 Inkjet on vinyl, dye sublimation on nylon, led lights, blowers/fans. Courtesy the artist. Project supported by the Italian Council (2020)
Swamp Coffee Table, 2015 Papier-mâch , resin, and polyurethane foam 18.5 × 51.18 × 36.22 in.
The word “pesce” means “fish” in Italian, and conjures up a playful symbol that the artist likes to introduce into many of his works as a sculptural form as well as a nod to his own name. Swamp Coffee Table is shaped like a smiley fish, whose elaborate texture evokes the greenery of marshes and is achieved through the crafty combination of resin, papier-mâch , and foam.
Yeti armchair, 1968 Color crayons on paper 23.62 × 39.37 in.
Many of Pesce’s ideas first manifest as preparatory sketches and exploratory drawings, which provide an aesthetic and conceptual blueprint for the physical objects. Free from practical constraints, these germinal images show the full extent of the creative freedom driving the artistic process. While presenting one of Pesce’s earliest designs for a couch, the Yeti armchair also reflects on the inevitability of time as a passing, mutating force— a notion that underpins much of the artist’s work. Pesce’s Yeti chair stands tall amidst a bare, otherworldly landscape in the company of dinosaurs, creatures whose destiny is doomed. A human footprint marks someone’s fleeting presence, while birds in flight offer another image of impermanence. Casting its shadow to the ground, the Yeti armchair cannot withdraw from the flow of time either.
Mountain of Hearts, 2020 Resin 15.35 × 17.72 in.
Vases are favorite functional objects in Pesce’s oeuvre, providing the artist with a framework to develop and iterate different motifs. Hearts are a relatable symbol expressing love, friendship, and emotions.
—Gaetano Pesce
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