A visionary project: the advent of the “flex office”
Designed for the offices of the Chiat\Day advertising agency in New York, this project ranks among Gaetano Pesce’s most radical achievements. Long confined to the status of a designer, Pesce here fully asserts an architectural stance, rooted in his education at the University of Venice and shaped by a profound questioning of the principles of modernism.
Locker doors (c.1994)
Defying all standardization, Gaetano Pesce introduces imperfection at the heart of the workplace. Intended for the employees of the Chiat\Day agency and produced by Mexican workers under Pesce’s direction, these locker doors reject alignment and industrial repetition. Their undulating surfaces, irregular perforations, and polychromy transform a functional object into a true plastic manifesto.
One exhibition, one book
This exhibition is accompanied by the publication of an unprecedented book retracing the genesis of the Chiat\Day project, its historical context, aesthetic stakes, and legacy. Conceived as an investigation, the book brings together archives, photographs, testimonies, and analyses, offering a renewed reading of Gaetano Pesce’s work.
Conceived in tandem, this book and the exhibition propose a new approach to Gaetano Pesce’s oeuvre. Far from limiting the artist to the field of design, they invite us to consider his work as that of a complete artist, for whom architecture, furniture, and objects are the result of a single, overarching vision. The works presented appear as fragments of a radical and deeply humanist line of thought, affirming a formal freedom that continues to resonate today.
Gaetano Pesce, The Chiat/Day New York Project
30 rue de Seine, 75006 Paris
A visionary project: the advent of the “flex office”
Designed for the offices of the Chiat\Day advertising agency in New York, this project ranks among Gaetano Pesce’s most radical achievements. Long confined to the status of a designer, Pesce here fully asserts an architectural stance, rooted in his education at the University of Venice and shaped by a profound questioning of the principles of modernism.
The Chiat\Day project outlines a major transformation of the working world. Conceived by Gaetano Pesce and Jay Chiat as open, fluid spaces with no apparent hierarchy, the offices break away from the logic of fixed workstations and standardization. Here, the workplace comes closer to the domestic sphere: one moves freely, settles in, and shifts according to needs and desires.
The Chiat\Day project outlines a major transformation of the working world. Conceived by Gaetano Pesce and Jay Chiat as open, fluid spaces with no apparent hierarchy, the offices break away from the logic of fixed workstations and standardization. Here, the workplace comes closer to the domestic sphere: one moves freely, settles in, and shifts according to needs and desires.
An unprecedented selection: the reconstruction of a lost ensemble
Destroyed in 1998, the Chiat\Day offices represent a major loss to architectural heritage. Through this exhibition, collectors and visitors will be transported to the thirty-eighth floor of a skyscraper on the Upper East Side, at the heart of Gaetano Pesce’s playful and innovative universe. Each of the works on display retains traces of its past use, shaped by the daily lives of the creatives and teams of the most emblematic advertising agency of 1990s New York.
An unprecedented selection: the reconstruction of a lost ensemble
Destroyed in 1998, the Chiat\Day offices represent a major loss to architectural heritage. Through this exhibition, collectors and visitors will be transported to the thirty-eighth floor of a skyscraper on the Upper East Side, at the heart of Gaetano Pesce’s playful and innovative universe. Each of the works on display retains traces of its past use, shaped by the daily lives of the creatives and teams of the most emblematic advertising agency of 1990s New York.
Locker doors (c.1994)
Defying all standardization, Gaetano Pesce introduces imperfection at the heart of the workplace. Intended for the employees of the Chiat\Day agency and produced by Mexican workers under Pesce’s direction, these locker doors reject alignment and industrial repetition. Their undulating surfaces, irregular perforations, and polychromy transform a functional object into a true plastic manifesto.
Waffle Table (c.1994)
Created for the cafeteria, the Waffle table combines a circular polychrome resin top with an integrated metal structure. The four legs, each in a different color, assert the principle of the differentiated series so dear to Gaetano Pesce. Playful though it may be, this piece of furniture remains guided by functionalism. Designed for everyday use, the table prioritizes strength and stability, ensured by an integrated metal framework borrowed from the architectural vocabulary.
TBWA\Chiat\Day desk (c.1995)
A central piece within a work environment, the agency’s desks combine Gaetano Pesce’s liquid, colorful universe with raw, oxidized metal. These desks feature a striking colored tabletop, enhanced by a transparency that reveals the pattern of a metal grid, omnipresent throughout this project. Depending on needs, the desks can be assembled together or folded onto themselves, offering a functional response to the modular requirements of the TBWA\Chiat\Day offices.
Highway door (c.1995)
The Highway door diverts the most functional architectural element to turn it into a playful field of experimentation and storytelling. Behind a metal grid—the structural signature of the Chiat\Day project—the resin surface depicts a true highway, punctuated by small children’s toy cars in motion.
One exhibition, one book
This exhibition is accompanied by the publication of an unprecedented book retracing the genesis of the Chiat\Day project, its historical context, aesthetic stakes, and legacy. Conceived as an investigation, the book brings together archives, photographs, testimonies, and analyses, offering a renewed reading of Gaetano Pesce’s work.
Conceived in tandem, this book and the exhibition propose a new approach to Gaetano Pesce’s oeuvre. Far from limiting the artist to the field of design, they invite us to consider his work as that of a complete artist, for whom architecture, furniture, and objects are the result of a single, overarching vision. The works presented appear as fragments of a radical and deeply humanist line of thought, affirming a formal freedom that continues to resonate today.