Bottega Veneta Takes Gaetano Pesce's Come Stai? To Miami With An Exhibition, Artist Talk, And Limited-Edition Book

In an unprecedented commission by Creative Director Matthieu Blazy last September, the architect, artist, and designer Gaetano Pesce was given creative carte blanche to produce a temporary site-specific artwork as the show space for Bottega Veneta's Summer 23 fashion show in Milan. The space included a sculptural resin floor and 400 resin chairs, created in a spectrum of vivid colors.

Now, at Design Miami/ (30 November - 04 December) the collaboration continues with an exhibition at this year's flagship fair, where a selection of the Come Stai? chairs will be on display. A live discussion between Pesce and Design Miami/ Curatorial Director Maria Cristina Didero, followed by a book signing, celebrates the project and inaugurates the release of a collectible artist book documenting Come Stai?.

THE EXHIBITION

Come Stai? is a new design for Pesce, his first original chair for several years. The construction is a cotton canvas based on traditional toile fabric, dipped in coloured resin and at times featuring hand drawings. Each is distinct and unique.

"This chair is a tribute to diversity. It is about the human being; we are all different. People who say we are all the same - f**k them! We are all different and this is our defining quality - otherwise, we are just a copy. We are all originals and this is one of the themes of my design." says Pesce.

On display and available for purchase from 30 November to 04 December at 153 NE 40th St, Miami, FL 33137, in the Miami Design District.

THE ARTIST TALK

A live discussion titled 'We Are All Different, and This Is Our Defining Quality!' between Gaetano Pesce and Design Miami/ Curatorial Director Maria Cristina Didero takes place in the theatre at Design Miami/ on 30 November from 02-03PM.

THE LIMITED-EDITION BOOK

Come Stai? is a new book commissioned by Bottega Veneta with Gaetano Pesce and Matthieu Blazy. With an insightful interview between Pesce and Hans Ulrich Obrist, the limited-edition publication explores the ideation, approach, and process of the collaboration, uncovering the many connections between Pesce and Blazy's creative practices and values. Contributions from Blazy and Maria Cristina Didero document the project's origins and place in Pesce's wider oeuvre, while a vivid layer of photographs by Stephen Shore and Sander Muylaert illustrate the chair's development and production. The volume carries over the Come Stai? design with an atypical profile informed by the chair shape, with a cover inspired by the chairs' materials. Just like Come Stai?, each book cover is unique. The book signing with Gaetano Pesce will take place on 30 November from 04-06PM at the exhibition space at 153 NE 40th St, Miami, FL 33137.

The Come Stai? chairs can also be purchased from the MY ecommerce site, and each purchase will be accompanied by a copy of the book.