TRIESTE, Italy and LOS ANGELES, USA – illycaffè, a global partner of Frieze, will touch down in Los Angeles at the international art fair’s new venue in Beverly Hills, from February 17-20, where illycaffè’s newest illy Art Collection, designed by world renowned artist Mona Hatoum, will make its official U.S. debut.
illy, the global coffee brand founded in Trieste, Italy in 1933, is widely recognized for its sustainable quality and commitment to contemporary art over the past 30 years – a fact influenced by its artist partners, who have transformed an everyday illy espresso cup into one of the most diverse and accessible collections of art objects in the world for people to enjoy.
Frieze Los Angeles is among the world’s leading art fairs, where internationally renowned artists and galleries across all mediums come together and celebrate the creative spirit of this lively city, in a reflection of its position as a global arts capital. This year’s themes center around identity and community in relation to the city’s large and diverse population.
At Frieze Los Angeles, illycaffè will present its illy Art Collection designed by Mona Hatoum, the internationally renowned artist whose poetry and politics play out in installations, sculptures, videos, photos, and works on paper.
In this particular illy Art Collection, the patterns and colors that adorn the cups recall the pattern of the keffyeh, a traditional Arab headdress. Hatoum narrates a profound history and association with work, sacrifice, and human interconnectedness through her geometric designs of fish net grids and olive leaf patterns.
The fair’s attendees and its one hundred-plus exhibitors can enhance their Freize experience by visiting the illy Caffè coffee bar located between galleries D7 and D8, where the new illy Art Collection will be on view, along with a full menu of beautifully crafted coffees featuring the unique illy blend and its extraordinary aroma.
“Beauty and contemporary art are two elements that epitomize the illy brand, from the James Rosenquist designed illy logo and sophisticated style of our coffee machines, to the iconic illy Art Collection and flair of our single-brand cafés, all of it to heighten the pleasure of enjoying the unmatched flavor and quality of illy coffee,” said Andrea Illy, Chairman of illycaffè. “We are proud to be the global coffee partner of Frieze Los Angeles, one of the leading international art fairs, with whom we share a passion for inclusiveness and sharing, two core values of contemporary art”.
illycaffè and contemporary art – illy Art Collection
For illycaffè, whose distinctive values are Good, Goodness and Beauty, contemporary art adds beauty to taste. The beauty illycaffè strives to achieve is inspired by the ancient Greek concept of kalokagathìa, which combines kalòs (that which is beautiful) and agathòs (that which is good) to create a new meaning in which beauty and goodness become one, each depending on the other.
The illy Art Collection cups are a tangible expression of this concept. This project was launched in 1991, and through it the company transformed an everyday object into a blank canvas by inviting contemporary artists to express their creativity onto the espresso cup that Matteo Thun designed for illy. Over the years, this canvas has featured the work of over 100 internationally renowned artists, including Michelangelo Pistoletto, Marina Abramović, Anish Kapoor, James Rosenquist, William Kentridge, Yoko Ono, Gillo Dorfles, Robert Wilson, Ai Weiwei and others.
Coffee lovers sipping an illy espresso from a cup designed by an artist combine the aroma and flavor of the illy blend with a complete aesthetic, visual, and tactile experience, entering into a relationship with contemporary art.
