Gaetano PESCE

Do you own a piece by Gaetano Pesce and would you like to know more about the work and its value? Our Experts will carry out a free appraisal of your sculpture, provide you with an estimate of the market price, and help you to sell it at the best price.

Status, price and estimation of the artist Gaetano PESCE

Estimated value of an object: 300 – 2,000€.

Price of a Pesce lamp: 800 – 80,000€.

Artist’s quote for design furniture: 300 – 10,000€.

Average estimate for a sculpture: 100 – 15,000€.

If you wish to have a piece of furniture by the artist appraised, our experts are at your disposal for a free appraisal.

The will to innovate

Gaetano Pesce is an Italian architect, designer and painter born in La Spezia in 1939 and now living mainly in New York.

From 1959 to 1965 he studied architecture in Venice, in parallel with his studies at the Higher Institute of Design. He soon exhibited in galleries and, in 1959, co-founded the “N” group, which collaborated with many other groups in Germany and France. From then on, Gaetano Pesce began research into visual communication and programmed art.

In 1962 he opened his first design and interior architecture agency in Padua. At the same time he met Cesare Cassina who, in addition to owning a manufacturing company specialising in the creation of top-of-the-range designer furniture, had set up a research workshop. The latter allowed Gaetano Pesce to open up to technological innovations and industrial materials such as rubber, fibreglass, plastic, etc. These soon became the basis of our architect’s art.

A dedicated artist

In 1969 he created one of his most famous design pieces: UP5 and UP6, Donna. Anthropomorphic in form, the work has no supporting structure and fills with air to return to its original shape. Its rounded forms, yet linked together by a bond reminiscent of prisoners, are both a reminder and a strong critique of society’s contemporary image of women.

On the strength of this success, Gaetano Pesce took part in numerous exhibitions and, in 1975, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris devoted an exhibition to him entitled “Le futur est peut-être passé”.

In the field of architecture, he was also involved in some of the biggest projects of his time, such as the Halles de Paris (1979), the European Union Bridge in Strasbourg (1989) and the offices of the TBWA Chiat Day advertising agency in New York (1994). His most famous building, however, is the Vertical Loft of 1982. Like his furniture, Gaetano Pesce’s architecture is characterised by anthropomorphic forms charged with symbolism and expressing a socio-political commitment in images.

Recognition on the art market

The most famous objects created by Gaetano Pesce are now world-famous, and are very successful at auction. An important Moloch Floor Lamp, for example, was sold at Christie’s London on 3 October 2017 for €123,692.

Moreover, the artist’s value has been rising steadily in recent years. This is evidenced by his famous Donna armchair, which sold for €1,500 on 18 December 2007 (Christie’s, Paris) and €9,458 on 3 May 2012 (Christie’s, London).

Gaetano Pesce is still active today and is the subject of numerous exhibitions, such as the one he organised in Brussels at the Obadia Gallery, or the retrospective devoted to him in 2006 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Appraise and sell a sculpture by Gaetano Pesce

If you own a Gaetano Pesce furniture or any other sculpture, ask for a free estimate via our online form.

You will then be contacted by a member of our team of experts and auctioneers to give you an independent view of the market price of your painting. In the event of a sale, our specialists will also advise you on the various options available to sell your work at the best price.