The Up 2000 series is a set of seats that just came out from a sci-fi movie. One look at its line of seats will give you the impression that it’s made for living rooms of the future. The Up 2000 series is a set of anthropomorphic seats, among which the Up 5_6 is world renown. These set of seats were introduced to the world in 1969 through the collaboration of C&B Italia (the company from which B&B Italia evolved) and Gaetano Pesce.
The convergence of artist and industry has brought upon a new line of expression for Pesce in his constant search for an innovative yet formal style. With the Up series, from one side Gaetano Pesce brought his own personal idea of the woman to light. “I was telling a personal story about my notion of women: despite themselves, women have always been prisoners of their own making. Along these lines, I liked the idea of giving this armchair a feminine shape with a ball and chain, the traditional image of the prisoner.”
The collaboration with the company enabled Pecse’s idea to be realized and transformed into a piece of modern art available to a broad range of people. The Up series consists of seven seats altogether which expresses a universal idea of timeless furnishings and one that is created with the foremost advancements in development and technology.
The 1969 version was then updated and introduced again to the 21st century by B&B Italia in 2000 with high performance materials. These chairs ideally represent the company’s aim and positioning towards innovation. The Up 2000 series is made out of polyurethane foam and upholstered in stretch fabric. Initially using packed vacuum, the 2000 series features vacuum packing has been replaced by further research on materials, making it possible to use longer lasting elements.
The seats are included into the wall of fame for famous design collections and has been exhibited in the international museums around the world and recently in the new exhibit by Antonio Citterio in the Museum of Design at the Milan Triennale. Celebrating is 40th year of presence in the furniture world; the Up series still looks great and is still appealing after all these years.
The Up 2000 series is a unique icon of pop-culture furniture that expresses all the unabashed energy of the Swinging Sixties, as well as the new-age technology and a provoking philosophy on women’s conditions, expressed by Pesce. The Up5_6 armchair, a timeless icon of Italian design, is still full of all that special energy of 40 years ago.
