illycaffè launches the new illy Art Collection by Ai Weiwei

TRIESTE, Italy, May 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- illycaffè presents the new illy Art Collection by Ai Weiwei, a personal interpretation of the renowned series of art cups by the Chinese artist who is one of the 21^st century's most influential people.

This illy Art Collection has been inspired by Ai Weiwei's famous Colored Vases which he created in 2006, taking ancient Neolithic vases and dunking them into industrial paint tins to reshape their look and function. Using a process of appropriation and destruction, Ai Weiwei takes ordinary objects away from their daily context and transforms them into works of art.

"To express yourself needs a reason, but expressing yourself is the reason," the perfect summary of the life and the art of Ai Weiwei, which are closely entwined and have seen him become a conceptual artist, sculptor, painter, performer, photographer, architect and urban designer, collector, film director, actor, musician, writer and editor, blogger and selfie professional, investigative journalist, human rights activist and dissident – a kaleidoscope of experiences and perspectives. In his illy Art Collection, Ai Weiwei echoes all of this in a familiar object and, with one of his typical unsettling acts, he invites us to explore our "position" and the perspective from which we look at the world at a given point in space and time, even just for the time it takes to enjoy a coffee.

"I am very happy to be a part of the illy Art Collection. I think it is very important to give power to art and design while drinking good coffee, because it affects everybody's life. We should enjoy it," said Ai Weiwei.

"The project with Ai Weiwei is an exceptional event," said Massimiliano Pogliani, illycaffè CEO, "and we have celebrated it with a particularly valuable and refined illy Art Collection. From a great personality, that has had a huge impact on culture in recent years, speaking out about the complexity of contemporary society, often ironically, we get an optical illusion, a hidden beauty which becomes manifest if we learn to see without the misconception of using one single perspective only. To us, this is what the illy Art Collection project is: art providing an insight through beauty, and Ai Weiwei's artwork is new and brilliant evidence of this."

The collection by Ai Weiwei is available in May in the following formats:
4 espresso cups (decorated in gold, black, orange and green) $125.00
4 cappuccino cups (decorated in gold, black, orange and green) $135.00
2 espresso cups (decorated in gold and black) $65.00
2 cappuccino cups (decorated in gold and black) $70.00

About illy Art Collection
illy Art Collection began in 1992, based on an idea of Francesco Illy: it includes numbered art cups by over 100 international artists. Great artists such as Marina Abramovic, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Louis Bourgeois, Mark Quinn… as well as young creative talents. As everyday objects, the cups designed by Matteo Thun are a blank slate and the protagonists of contemporary art get their inspiration, so that drinking an espresso becomes an experience involving both the senses and the mind.

About Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei was born in Beijing in 1957 and currently resides and works in Europe. He is renowned for making strong aesthetic statements that resonate with timely phenomena across today's geopolitical world. From architecture to installations, social media to documentaries, Ai uses a wide range of mediums as expressions of new ways for his audiences to examine society and its values.

illycaffè is an Italian family-owned company, founded in Trieste in 1933. Its mission has always been to offer the best coffee to the world. illycaffè produces a unique 100% Arabica blend, combining 9 of the best varieties in the world, selected by illycaffè: every day 8 million cups of illy coffee are served in over 140 countries around the globe, in the best cafés, restaurants and hotels, in single-brand cafés and shops, at home. As a result of its innovations, illycaffè contributes to the coffee technology progress at global level. In 1991, the "Premio Ernesto Illy de qualidade sustentavel do cafè para espresso" was launched in Brazil for quality espresso coffee. illycaffè has contributed to the sharing of the know-how, paying growers a premium price for the best quality selected by illycaffè. Since 2016, with the "Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award", the company has celebrated coffee growers all over the world that, according to illy, have produced the best sustainable coffee. Since 2013, the company has been in the list of the World Most Ethical Companies. In 2019, it enhanced its commitment to pursue a sustainable business model integrating the interest of people with the environment, adopting the status of Società Benefit (Benefit Company) and adding this commitment into its own bylaw. In 2021, illycaffè was the first Italian company in the coffee sector to obtain the international certification as B Corp as a result of its commitment to comply with the highest standards of social and environmental performance. The company also founded the University of Coffee, which has the objective of sharing culture at all levels, offering a comprehensive and practical training to growers, baristas and coffee lovers. Everything that is "made in illy" is about beauty and art, the founding principles of the brand, starting from its logo, designed by artist James Rosenquist, up to illy Art Collection cups, decorated by over 100 international artists. In 2019, the company had 1405 employees and a turnover of € 520,5 million. There are 269 illy single-brand shops in over 40 countries all over the world. In 2021, Rhone Capital became a shareholder of illycaffè with a minority share to support the company in its international growth.

SOURCE illy