Bottega Veneta and Gaetano Pesce To Unveil Immersive Installation
With a career spanning seven decades across a myriad of mediums, there isn’t much Gaetano Pesce hasn’t done. Beginning as an architect, the multi-disciplinarian includes urban planning, industrial design, urban and furniture design on his CV. Still, in his 80s the Italian artist isn’t afraid to dapple in new creative endeavours. Continuing to collaborate with Bottega Veneta, the man responsible for the brand's recent show set designs and store artworks, has come up with an immersive installation and line-up of limited edition handbags for the annual Miart and Salone del Mobile art fair in Milan.
'This is my first design of a bag and it is figurative – two mountains with a sunrise or a sunset behind,' explains Pesce. ‘I wanted a bag with an optimistic view. There is a capacity to realise anything at Bottega Veneta and this bag opens up a way to express future design. The design of the future has to be figurative and it has to communicate – such an object has to tell a story.’
The work will be open to the public at Bottega Veneta's Montenapoleone store. Translated to 'Come and See', Vieni a Vedere follows the artists' commission for Bottega Veneta's S/S 23 runway show that saw him transform a warehouse with a vibrant poured resin floor. He also designed resin-dipped cotton canvas chairs titled Come Stai? made available via Bottega Veneta stores. This latest installation follows suit with the store covered in resin and fabric to create a unique experience for visitors.
Inspired by the contrasting scenes of mountain ranges and grassy prairies, Pesce has designed two handbags named 'My Dear Mountains' and 'My Dear Prairies', respectively. Both styles are handcrafted by Bottega Veneta's artisans from glossy nappa leather and woven together using the signatureintrecciato technique. The mountains bag used an airbrush technique to mirror Pesce's watercolours while the prairie bag uses meticulous crochet technique from shades of green calf and lamb leathers to evoke grass. If viewing exclusive works by the Italian master wasn’t enough of a draw, all visitors will also receive a free poster drawn by Pesce.
Vieni a Vedere runs from 15-22 April and you can books your visit on BottegaVeneta.com