Gaetano Pesce’s Famous Design on Display at BurJuman

It All Started with a Sponge- Gaetano Pesce’s Revolutionary Feminist Chair “UP” On Display at BurJuman in Collaboration with Leonidas Dubai.

Nearly 50 years after award-winning Italian architect and designer Gaetano Pesce’s creation “UP” brought to the spotlight the prejudice, inequality and oppression women faced in the 70s, the topic is still relevant today. The popular design is currently on display exclusively at BurJuman in collaboration with Leonidas Dubai, world-renowned Belgian chocolate maker, until the 5th of September, 2020.

The inspiration for “UP” came to the designer in a rather peculiar place, the shower, as he held a sponge in his hand and contemplated its ability to shrink and expand based on pressure. The unconventional style of Pesce’s gravity-defying chair – round, bulbous, curvy, yet sleek – and the accompanying ottoman, resembling a ball and chair, symbolized 70s femininity and gender oppression.

B&B Italia, who produced “UP” for Pesce in 1969, recently celebrated 50 years of the iconic chair by introducing 7 new colourways in 2019.

Famously referred to as La Mamma, Big Mama and Donna, Gaetano Pesce’s “UP” has also been featured in the 7th James Bond film “Diamonds Are Forever”.

Recognizing his designs and contributions, Pesce has been awarded the Italian Cultural Institute Lifetime Achievement Award (2010), Design Excellence Award from the Philadelphia Museum of Art (2005) and the Chrysler Design Award (1993), to name a few. His designs are included under 30 permanent collections of the world’s most prestigious museums – Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Musee des Arts Décoratifs of Louvre in Paris.