TRIESTE, Italy — illycaffè is now the official global coffee partner of Frieze Art Fair, the premier international contemporary art fair that brings together art connoisseurs, artists, and galleries, arriving in New York City at The Shed from 5th to 9th of May and in London this October. As part of a three-year global partnership with Frieze Art Fair, illy extends its long-standing interest and commitment to promote beauty in all forms, especially through the arts. For over twenty-years the company has sustained art and culture, supporting artists, institutions, and international exhibitions.
After a challenging year for the art community, Frieze New York is a “welcome back” where over 60 of the world’s leading galleries will showcase the creative ideas of major artists and emerging talents. The live, in-person event will take place for the first-time at The Shed, an important cultural institution in the heart of New York City.
Central to this year’s programming will be a tribute honouring the Vision & Justice Project, which is rooted in education and expanding awareness around how visual representation in the arts has both liberated and limited the understanding of citizenship and belonging in the United States.
The Frieze Talks programme will bring together respected figures from the art and literary worlds, who will discuss issues related to the creative sphere. The main programme will also be accessible to the general public online through the Frieze Viewing Room digital platform through May 14, which will host a parallel edition of the fair featuring 160 international galleries.
“For a company like illycaffè, which has always pursued sustainable quality, seeking new and beauty is not some secondary add-on but a key component of our corporate culture – says illycaffè CEO Massimiliano Pogliani – the beauty for which illycaffè strives is associated with the Ancient Greek term kalokagathìa, which fuses kalòs (beautiful) and agathòs (good) to create a new meaning in which the goodness of the aroma and the taste of the illy blend is combined with the beauty of the visual and tactile experience of our product. Contemporary art successfully embodies these qualities, and being a partner of Frieze Art Fairs, one of the leading events on the global art scene, is a source of pride for us.”
Beauty and art are the two elements that unite all that is “made in illy,” beginning with the logo designed by artist James Rosenquist and the renowned illy Art Collection coffee cups. Frieze New York will provide a stage to showcase the illy Art Collection, created over the span of 29 years by over 100 international contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons, Marina Abramovich, and Pistoletto, among others, many of whom have also been featured at Frieze in the past. Additionally, visitors and exhibitors will be able to combine beauty and flavour by enjoying an illy coffee in the pop up created special for the occasion.
