Visionary Swiss artist creates new illy Art Collection

The Italian brand illycaffè has unveiled its new line of artistic cups, the illy Art Collection, designed by John Armleder, one of today's most visionary Swiss artists, known for his multidisciplinary work encompassing painting, sculpture, design, performances and installations.

A key figure on the international art scene, Armleder marked the history of art with a performance inspired by the libertarian Fluxus movement and one of its creators, John Cage, challenging conventions and the boundaries between exhibition space and the domestic environment.

With a career marked by exhibitions at the world's most prestigious museums - from MoMA in New York to the Pompidou Center in Paris - Armleder now proposes a collaboration with illycaffè that reflects a free, ironic and deeply conceptual vision.

"I'm an artist who presents himself with new things, or new forms, or new production strategies," said the Swiss artist, who named the collection "Tastes."

And it is precisely in this spirit that he created a unique line to transform the iconic cup designed by Matteo Thun for the Italian brand in 1991 into an element of aesthetic and cultural reflection.

The new edition of the illy Art Collection reflects Armleder's universe, with mirrored surfaces, metallic chrome and iridescent reflections, which refer to one of the artist's most iconic symbols: his famous disco balls.

"A cup is a cup. On the other hand, it can reflect what it contains. And it can represent time," the artist reinforced.

"With John Armleder, our illy Art Collection is enriched with a new chapter that speaks of creative freedom and the fusion of genres and languages. Each cup is a work to be discovered, an invitation to experience the moment of coffee as an aesthetic and intellectual experience," said Cristina Scocchia, CEO of illycaffè.

The collection will be presented to the public at four major contemporary art events: Frieze London, Art Basel Paris, Artissima in Turin, and ARCOmadrid. It will also be available from the end of September in illy's physical and online stores.