Wineries promoting art and new museum spaces
More and more wineries are hosting art projects between the rows of vines or within their premises, transforming themselves into marvellous places of contemplation.
Whether contemporary installations, photographic exhibitions, paintings or sculptures, the aim is to allow the visitor to enjoy an all-embracing experience by combining the discovery of wines with the magic of art.
The suggestion of the works, cleverly inserted into the context, allows the image of the winery to be elevated by renewing the concept of space and function.
These two worlds, art on the one hand and wine on the other, merging and collaborating together allow for the diffusion of culture even in less predictable places and the initiation of modern patronage.
The interventions, many of which are site-specific, are generally commissioned to protagonists of the national and international art scene.
Numerous examples of this phenomenon can be traced in our country, starting with the ‘vendemmia d’artista’ organised by Ornellaia, which involves contemporary artists in the creation of limited edition works of art and labels, passing through Buren’s wall of mirrors located in Castello di Ama, the sculptures of Ca’ del Bosco – Franciacorta, the Carapace of Tenute Lunelli, up to the Frescobaldi Collection in the CastelGiocondo estate and the Barolo Chapel of the Ceretto family.
Among the clients of the SVC Winery Project who have embarked on this interesting association with art, mention must certainly be made of Tenuta Mara, which in May 2014 employed a group of artists to give life and colour to the truncated concrete vats.
These monoliths, used for vinification, have a shape reminiscent of a goblet and have been treated according to the biodynamic philosophy of the winery.
Annalisa Matucci, a painter from Pisa who exhibited at the Venice biennial, reveals the technique used and tells us about the exclusive use of natural substances to obtain her work.
I studied a lot to find colours, materials and natural textures that could match the conceptual intent of the project. For the first layer that acted as a clinging agent, I chose a mineral, chalk, which I applied with a spatula to accentuate the material effect. This allowed me to maintain the breathable properties of the vat and to shape the surface to my liking. The natural pigments I used in the second layer were diluted with an egg-based binding solution and ranged from violet to magenta to pearl platinum white. With the help of a laser level, I created/projected geometries on my new ‘canvas’ by playing with tone contrasts; finally, I applied a protective layer extracted from citrus fruits to preserve the tulip from the typical wear and tear of a cellar.
