This New York Townhouse Has Been Filled With Italian Radical Design
From Gufram’s Cactus to Memphis’ Carlton bookcase.
For the first time ever, three of Italy’s most recognised “radical design” brands are being shown together in the US, as part of an exhibition taking place inside a New York townhouse.
On the occasion of the NYCXDesign festival, the Italian Radical Design group – made up of Memphis, Gufram, and Meritalia – has taken over a space named Kalei NYC, in the Bowery district of the city.
Iconic pieces from each of the three brands are spread out across three floors – from Gufram’s Cactus, to Memphis’ Carlton bookcase. The idea to present them all mixed in with one another was intention, with the group hoping to give visitors an immersive overview of the Italian Radical Design Movement – describing it as a “shared cultural language rather than a sequence of individual brands”.
The show comes at a moment when Radical Design period, which took place in Italy from the mid 1960s to the 1970s, has gained a whole new generation of appreciators. “This take-over asserts the enduring urgency of Radical Design today as an ongoing challenge to how objects are experienced,” they add.
Ercoli Giancola
Ercoli Giancola
Ercoli Giancola
Ercoli Giancola
Ercoli Giancola
Ercoli Giancola
Central to the show is the work of the Gaetano Pesce, who had a studio in NYC up until his death in 2024. Paying homage to Pesce’s influence on the Meritalia brand since its beginnings, they will be reissuing a collection from the late designer, the “Broadway” dining set. Now available in a limited edition of 33 sets, each comprises a dining table, four four-legged chairs, one stool and one nine-legged chair in orange and blue color variations.
“Originally conceived in 1993, the Broadway series re-emerges here as one of Pesce’s most radical statements on domestic space,” the brand says. “The 543 Broadway Chair rejects the language of industrial standardisation in favour of expressive imperfection: moulded in multicoloured transparent epoxy resin, each piece behaves like a singular
composition rather than a repeatable object.”
Italian Radical Design group is on view at Kalei NYC from 15 May to late June 2026.
