Set of La Mama Armchair and Ottoman by Gaetano Pesce for B&B Italia, 1960

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In the early 1960s, the chemical company bayer developed a polyurethane foam based on a new resin, allowing for the … Read more In the early 1960s, the chemical company bayer developed a polyurethane foam based on a new resin, allowing for the easy creation of various shapes. By the middle of the decade, the italian design firm c&b had seized upon and invested in the possibilities offered by this development. The company then invited gaetano pesce, interested in new technologies and their potential, to experiment with this material: he developed the "serie up." through this object, the designer symbolically expressed his vision of womanhood. With the round pouf, the second element of the chair, the designer explained that he wanted to give the chair a feminine form with a ball and chain at its base. He thus wished to denounce, through a metaphor, the condition of women. When it was presented at the milan furniture fair in 1969, the object caused a scandal. The first edition of the mamma chair had no supporting structure and was made of a single block, simplifying the chair's transport. Its volume was reduced by vacuum-compressing it in airtight packaging. Once placed in the desired location, the buyer removed the packaging from the seat, which then slowly inflated and regained its original shape and size, thanks to the air entering the cells of the polyurethane foam. Originally produced by c&b, it was removed from the catalog in 1973 due to the presence of freon gas. It reappeared in 2000, manufactured by bayfit and marketed by b&b italia; the mamma is still sold today. Reupholstered armchair, polyurethane foam interior made of two single pieces. This piece has an attribution mark,
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