Trieste, 17 April 2024 – At this year’s Biennale Arte, illycaffè, the globally renowned coffee manufacturer that has a strong base in sustainable quality, is presenting the latest edition of its illy Art Collection. This special edition, named “Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere”, is characterised by the participation of four emerging Latin American artists, deepening the company’s long-standing connection to the world of contemporary art.
Continuing the partnership
For more than two decades, illycaffè has enjoyed a fruitful partnership with the Biennale, which is now being further strengthened in its 60th edition. This year’s illy Art Collection was curated by the curator of the Biennale Arte 2024, Adriano Pedrosa, and includes works by four Latin American artists participating in the exhibition.
The artists in the spotlight
The collection features works by Paula Nicho from Guatemala, Rember Yahuarcani López from Peru, Aycoobo from Colombia and the Brazilian artist collective Mahaku. Each artist brings their unique cultural perspective, using the iconic illy cups as a canvas to artistically interpret the proud traditions and cultures of their home countries.
Rember Yahuarcani López is a visual artist, writer and activist who belongs to the Clan Áimenɨ of the Uitoto Nation of the Northern Amazon in Peru. Each painting is the living voice of the ancestors and gods, reflected in animals and nature, as in those times there was no separation between man and nature. In ‘the invisible beings’, the artist reproduces creatures born thousands of years ago in the Amazon territories. Over the centuries, it was the indigenous gods that taught their inhabitants new ways of relating to the environment and it is through myths and stories that they continue to pass on important knowledge about medicine, building, planting and caring for the environment.
Aycoobo (Wilson Rodríguez) is a Colombian artist who learned his art from his father, a painter and plant expert. In many of his works he deals with the relationship between man and nature. For him, art is a way to refine his ancient roots and his life as an individual in the contemporary world. The cup, which is based on the work ‘the shaman’s dream’, represents the way in which the shaman perceives and feels nature from his being, connecting spiritually with the plants and animals, who are the heavenly guardians of the land, learning from them the ancient wisdom that sees each one playing a role, a shared and accepted function because each one brings its own medicine to heal humanity.
Paula Nicho is probably the most important living Guatemalan Maya artist. She started working as a weaver and today paints fantasy clothes, which reproduce nature in an artistic, unique and special way. She considers them ‘my second skin’, which is also the title of the work reproduced in the cup, and they represent that part of her history in which she suffered discrimination for wearing traditional clothes. Through the depiction of various scenes of life, in which she captured the strength of the women wearing the characteristic costumes of the various regions of Guatemala, the artist testifies to the importance of clothes in restoring indigenous self-determination.
MAHKU, the Brazilian Art Movement of the Huni Kuin ethnic group, use art to give form to stories told in Huni Meka songs, which they consider to be messages from the spirits transmitted to the Huni Kuin people. Their works depict myths about the origins of the world and the relationships between humans, animals, plants and spirits. The cup tells the myth of kapewë pukeni (the alligator-bridge): some men had to cross the Bering Strait from the Asian to the American continent. An alligator offered to carry them on his back in exchange for food. On the way, the available animals became increasingly scarce and the men hunted a small alligator, betraying the trust of the large alligator, which sank into the sea. Hence the separation between different peoples and places.
Interweaving sustainability and art
The CEO of illycaffè, Cristina Scocchia, emphasised that the new collection not only celebrates art, but also highlights the importance of dialogue and inclusion. The artworks focus on respect for cultural roots and living in harmony with nature – values that illycaffè also seeks to promote throughout its supply chain.
Overview and pricing
The illy Art Collection will be available from 29 April 2024 in illy shops and via the company’s online shop. Prices vary depending on the set: 94 euros for four espresso cups, 114 euros for four cappuccino cups, 51 euros for two espresso cups and 61 euros for two cappuccino cups.
More information: illy.com
Pictures: ILLY Caffè