"Up 5" Chair and "Up 6" Ottoman
Designed by Gaetano Pesce, Italian, born 1939. Made from 1970-72 by C & B Italia S.p.A, Novedrate, Italy, 1966 - 1974. Made from 1973-81, 1984, 1994-present by B & B Italia, Milan, 1966-present.
Geography:
Made in Milan, Italy, Europe
Date:
Designed 1969, reissued 1994Medium:
Expandable polyurethane foam, stretch jersey fabricDimensions:
Chair: 40 1/2 x 41 x 51 1/4 inches (102.9 x 104.1 x 130.2 cm) Ottoman: 22 1/2 inches (57.2 cm)Curatorial Department:
European Decorative Arts and SculptureObject Location:
2000-151-1,2Credit Line:
Gift of Collab: The Group for Modern and Contemporary Design at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2000
Made in Milan, Italy, Europe
Date:
Designed 1969, reissued 1994Medium:
Expandable polyurethane foam, stretch jersey fabricDimensions:
Chair: 40 1/2 x 41 x 51 1/4 inches (102.9 x 104.1 x 130.2 cm) Ottoman: 22 1/2 inches (57.2 cm)Curatorial Department:
European Decorative Arts and SculptureObject Location:
Currently not on view
Accession Number:2000-151-1,2Credit Line:
Gift of Collab: The Group for Modern and Contemporary Design at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2000
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collab [x] comfy [x] contemporary [x] design collection [x] feminine [x] hot [x] modern [x] red [x] sensual [x]The chair that made Pesce famous in 1969, Up 5 is largely characteristic of the designer's unique philosophy, imbuing personality into his designs through unconventional materials. Up 5 not only has an organic look and feel-the whole piece literally "grows" into form when unwrapped from its tight vacuum seal. It comes as no surprise, then, that Up 5 evokes a mother's womb and that opening its package becomes an event similar to birth. Pesce has cleverly applied polyurethane, a highly synthetic material, as a metaphor for one of the most precious moments in humanity.
