Gaetano Pesce is a designer who works between art and architecture and wants his designs to attack or argue against the results of standardized commercial design. He uses poetry, sometimes humor, color, and texture (in foam, resin, and urethane ) to create whimsical chairs, couches, and domestic art for gallery spaces.

Last summer his designs filled the ground floor of Rome’s MAXXI museum in a provocative but fun filled array of his designs. Now you can see a small collection of his objects in a design show at the Allouche Gallery on Spring Street in Soho.

This includes a wooden version of his anthropomorphic UP 5&6 chair and ottoman, depicting a female body chained to a ball. First created in 1969, the work is meant to denounce sexism and women’s enslavement to male prejudice.

In the front of the gallery there is a fluffy (if Epoxy Resin, Dacron, and Metal can be described in this way) white cloud lamp (top) that looks a bit like a double atomic bomb blast to this reviewer. But then it also looks as if it is about to walk off! Go have a look at the gallery at 115 Spring Street.