Image Source: Courtesy of Studio Shapiro, stirworld.com

Last month the exhibition “Luck and Sex. That’s all” in Ketabi Projects, in Paris, came to a close. It was dedicated to the work of Italian designer Paolo Pallucco. The roman -architect initially- designer establishes the historic design brand of the same name in the 80s and quickly makes history in the field of experimental and industrial furniture design. The exhibition in Paris takes us to the time when the brand changed the world of design, unravelling the story from the beginning, that is, the period when Pallucco does not yet deal with contemporary design but, charmed by the historical avant-garde, brings to the Italian furniture market the most iconic modernist pieces, pulling them out of the “archive” and making them accessible for real life and utility.

Image Source: Courtesy of Studio Shapiro, stirworld.com

Soon, however, the founder craved something more creative than the mere reproduction of already historically established furniture. Thus, at the beginning of the 80s, having already experienced success with his modernist replicas, he moved his company to Veneto and began to design and implement his own furniture together with his wife Mireille Rivier. Under the guidance of industrial designer Hannes Wettstein and Jurgen Bey, he designs and practically transforms politics, fashion and art history into furniture with a unique vocabulary and special uses. In collaboration with photographer Peter Lindbergh and fashion designer Rei Kawakubo, the brand acquired its own identity which was universally defined by its multidisciplinary management.

After the initial collaboration with Kawakubo there is a turn towards contemporary design, which is often approached with ancient techniques and traditional methods of shaping the materials e.g. glassblowing. These elements along with a multifaceted language and references unite functionality with aesthetic elements taken from the world of mass production and industry, and there is no lack of lyrical references -homages- to beloved creators like Rainier Maria Rilke and Andreï Tarkovsky, who inspired Pallucco to create the famous three-legged chair named Stalker after the 1979 movie of the same name. With the War '87 series, he introduces something unprecedented into furniture design: the tools of war on a domestic scale. In particular, the Tankette coffee table (in collaboration with Mireille Rivier) brings to the interior of the house an aestheticised form of militarism, while at the same time it’s a comment on Design itself, giving a twist to the lessons of modernism with a deeply literal and political idiom given the design standards of the time.

Paolo Pallucco & Mireille Rivier’s XX Tankette' table | Image Source: Courtesy of Studio Shapiro, stirworld.com

In 2016 the brand makes an aesthetic turn with the change of ownership. The Venetian Lino Lando, the owner of the lighting company Fortuny®, takes over the reins of the Pallucco company with the main goal of maintaining the course of the brand and at the same time promoting knowledge on innovative and creative design.

The last iconic retrospective “Luck and Sex. That's all.” takes its title from a phrase by Paolo Pallucco, a comment of his on life. The exhibition is curated by Paul Bourdet, Stefan Cosma and Charlotte Ketabi-Lepard with the aim of highlighting the entire range and history of the brand. For this purpose, the exhibition started with a large two-year survey to which 40 designers were invited to contribute. The result of this big production, with absolute respect for Pallucco's own designs and his philosophy, was presented at Paris' Ketabi Projects and was completed last March (2022).

Fortuny floor lamp | Image Source: pallucco.com

As part of the exhibition, the public had the opportunity to get to know the deeply inspired designer by following his train of thought from the beginning of his career. From an avant-garde designer, who wanted to bring to life his favourite historical forms, to his most experimental period, his political, commentary and ironic phase and to his most lyrical and religious one, to today. This exhibition is the prelude to the long-awaited volume exploring Pallucco's life and work, which is expected to be published towards the end of this year.

Feather Reading:

https://www.pallucco.com/it/download

https://www.pallucco.com/projects

https://www.designboom.com/design/radical-80s-designer-paolo-pallucco-retrospective-luck-sex-thats-all-paris-03-12-2022/

https://www.wallpaper.com/design/new-york-design-week-2022

https://www.ketabibourdet.com/exhibitions/14-paolo-pallucco-luck-and-sex.-that-s-all.-ketabi-projects-22-passage-dauphine-75006-paris/

https://www.vntg.com/165975/bocca-da-fuoco-coat-hanger-by-paolo-pallucco-and-mireille-rivier-1987/

https://www.sightunseen.com/2022/03/paolo-pallucco-retrospective-paris-1980s-furniture/