The elegance of Carrara marble is the inspiration for the 8th edition of Vendemmia d’Artista, a project that has donated more than 1.5 million euros to art foundations across the globe
Artist Yutaka Sone has created special-edition labels that will adorn a limited number of Ornellaia 2013 bottles. Sotheby’s will preside over an auction of nine extremely rare lots during a gala evening at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, which will receive the proceeds.
Milan, February 25, 2016 – Ornellaia, one of Italy’s iconic estates, is proud to announce the 8th edition of Vendemmia d’Artista, a project that showcases the marriage between the world of contemporary art and fine wine. Launched in 2009, Vendemmia d’Artista celebrates the unique character of each new vintage of the estate’s flagship wine, Ornellaia, by commissioning an artist of world fame to interpret a theme chosen by the estate and Vendemmia d’Artista art curators Bartolomeo Pietromarchi and Maria Alicata. This year, Ornellaia has selected Los Angeles-based artist Yutaka Sone to capture the essence of Ornellaia 2013 ‘L’Eleganza’ (Elegance).
On May 19, Ornellaia will organize an exclusive benefit auction in Los Angeles, which will include nine special-edition bottles created by Yutaka Sone for Ornellaia 2013 L’Eleganza Vendemmia d’Artista. The auction will take place as part of a gala dinner, during which Andrea Fiuczynski, Sotheby’s EVP/Chairman, Sotheby’s Americas, will oversee the bidding, with all proceeds going to the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the host of this year’s event. The auction proceeds will benefit the Hammer Museum’s exhibitions, collections, and nearly 300 annual public programs, all of which are free to the public.
To interpret the unique character of L’Eleganza for Ornellaia 2013, Yutaka Sone was commissioned to create a site-specific work of art for the Ornellaia estate and an extremely exclusive series of 109 bottle labels, individually signed, consisting of: 100 3-liter double-magnums, 8 6-liter Imperials, and a single 9-liter Salmanazar. In addition, the artist has created a label for an individual 750-ml bottle of Ornellaia that will be included in every 6-bottle wood box of the 2013 vintage.
“When I began this project, and as I have worked with marble all my life, I knew exactly where I needed to go to interpret L’Eleganza of Ornellaia 2013 vintage,” stated Yutaka Sone. I decided to visit the marble quarries of Carrara where Michelangelo used to take the stone for his celebrated sculptures. My two dear friends, Luc Tuymans & Rirkrit Tiravanija, accompanied me on this special journey and together we enjoyed a picnic in this magical place…. As you see from the labels I have created, I wanted to interpret the values of sharing, of friendship and the extraordinary uniqueness of this experience.”
The Vendemmia d’Artista project has raised more than 1.5 million euros, and the entire proceeds have been donated to foundations and museums around the globe that support art across a range of expressions, including the Whitney Museum in New York, the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, the Royal Opera House in London, and the H2 Foundation in Hong Kong and Shanghai, as well as the Museo Poldi Pezzoli in Milan, the AGO in Toronto, and the Beyeler Foundation in Basel.
“Today, Vendemmia d’Artista reaches its 8th edition,” stated Ornellaia CEO Giovanni Geddes da Filicaja, “and its proceeds will continue to go towards restoration of artworks that are part of our international heritage. In seven years, we have been successful in donating more than 1.5 million euros across the globe, just a very small part of what we have committed ourselves to raising in the future.”
Jamie Ritchie, Sotheby’s CEO & President, Americas & Asia said, “The Vendemmia d’Artista series is a wonderful way of combining the characteristics of each vintage of Ornellaia with a world class artist’s interpretation of that specific year. For the eighth edition, Sotheby’s Wine are delighted to continue our collaboration with the launch of Ornellaia 2013 L’Eleganza Vendemmia d’Artista, through a very special dinner and auction benefiting the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.”
“The Hammer Museum is thrilled to partner with Ornellaia, Sotheby’s, and the renowned artist Yutaka Sone to present this collaboration,” says Ann Philbin, Director of the Hammer Museum. We are honored that Ornellaia selected the Hammer to benefit from the wine auction this spring. I look forward to a lovely evening celebrating art and wine in Los Angeles.”
“Ornellaia 2013 is a dense wine with vibrant color and a marked aromatic complexity built around a limpid, brilliant fruitiness,” explains Axel Heinz, Ornellaia’s winemaker and Estate Director. “Fine spicy and balsamic notes underscore all this. Complex, crisp nuances of fruit on the palate are framed by delicate yet firm racy tannins that display a rare harmony between firmness and fleshiness. What is striking about Ornellaia 2013 is its long and delightfully aromatic finish, which leaves a lasting impression of elegance. I will always remember this vintage because of the delayed start to the vines’ growth cycle that gave us some cause for concern. This was swiftly remedied, however, when Mother Nature intervened and provided us with great conditions for another classic vintage of Ornellaia.”
About Ornellaia – www.ornellaia.com
Ornellaia’s philosophy considers the birth of the wines to be the truest expression of their terroir. The grapes for Ornellaia are selected by hand, and picked in the estate’s vineyards in Bolgheri, on the Tuscan coast. The varying natures of the estate’s terroirs, marine, alluvial and volcanic, are ideal for the cultivation of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The Estate extends over 97 hectares along the Tuscan coast, just a short distance from the medieval hamlet of Bolgheri and the famed cypress-lined avenue ‘Viale dei Cipressi’. The constant work of the Ornellaia team and the ideal microclimatic and geological characteristics have brought the wines great international success in just twenty years since the first vintage of Ornellaia in 1985. In 2001, the 1998 Ornellaia was declared Wine of the Year by the American journal Wine Spectator. In 2011 the German publication Der Feinschmecker awarded Ornellaia its most sought-after award, the ‘Weinlegende’. Ornellaia has received considerable recognition in the national and international press, and is consistently ranked among the top estates by Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator, James Suckling, Antonio Galloni, Bruce Sanderson and the Italian Wine Guides: Gambero Rosso, Espresso, Veronelli, Duemilavini AIS, and Luca Maroni.
About Yutaka Sone
Born in 1965 in Shizouka, Japan, Yutaka Sone studied fine art and architecture at the Tokyo Geijutsu University. Now based in Los Angeles, Yutaka is a well-known artist for even those who take even a tangential interest in the world of art. A painter, sculptor and one of the best representations the word “artist” connotes. A man whose passion and rich intensity exudes to the point where it’s not only visible in the detail and philosophy behind his work, but simply from standing next to him. He has had solo exhibitions at Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland; Aspen Art Museum, Colorado; The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago (all 2006); Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2003); and the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Toyota, Japan (2002). The artist representated Japan, along with Motohiko Odani, at the 50° Venice Biennale in 2003. Work by the artist is held in international museum collections, including The Art Institure of Chicago; High Museum, Atlanta, Georgia; Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate Gallery, London; and the Whitney Museum of Americain Art, New York. His recent shows include: The High Line, New York (2015-16), a major commission for Sifang Art Museum in Nanjing, China, and Santa Monica Museum of Art (2013). He lives and works in Los Angeles.
About the Hammer Museum
The Hammer Museum at UCLA offers exhibitions and collections that span classic to contemporary art, as well as programs that spark meaningful encounters with art and ideas. Through a wide-ranging, international exhibition program and the biennial, Made in L.A., the Hammer highlights contemporary art since the 1960s, especially the work of emerging and under recognized artists. The exhibitions, permanent collections, and nearly 300 public programs annually—including film screenings, lectures, symposia, readings, music performances, and workshops for families—are all free to the public. Admission to all exhibitions and programs at the Hammer Museum is free, made possible through the generosity of benefactors Erika J. Glazer and Brenda R. Potter.
About Folio Fine Wine Partners – www.foliowine.com
Folio Fine Wine Partners was founded in 2004 by Michael Mondavi and his wife, Isabel, with their children, Dina and Rob Jr. Folio is an importer, fine wine agency and producer of quality wines from the world’s premiere and emerging wine regions, providing sales, marketing and public relations services to wine brands from California, Italy, Austria, Germany, Spain and Argentina. Wines from California include Animo, Emblem, Hangtime, Isabel Mondavi, M by Michael Mondavi, Oberon and Spellbound. From Italy, are the wines of Arnaldo Caprai, Attems, Bruno Giacosa, Coppo, Dal Forno Romano, Danzante, Donnafugata, Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi, Luce della Vite, Masseto, Ornellaia, Quorum, and Villa Sandi. The Spanish portfolio includes Artadi, Capafons-Ossó, Fillaboa, Leda, Nita, Palacios Remondo and Vall Llach. From Argentina are the wines of Ben Marco, Crios, Nosotros and Susana Balbo, with Laurenz V (Austria), and Prinz von Hessen (Germany) completing the portfolio.
