VIENNA, Austria – illycaffè, the global coffee brand renowned for its unique connection to the world of contemporary art, is the official coffee of the fourth edition of SPARK Art Fair Vienna that brings together international galleries and artists at Vienna’s Marx Halle from 21 to 23 March 2025. The beauty of art and the excellence of illy’s coffee blend -come together to offer a moment to relax to visitors, artists, and exhibitors at the exclusive illy coffee bar located in the main Hall, in the VIP lounge and backstage areas.
Additionally, attendees will have the opportunity to experience the latest illy Art Collection signed by Syrian artist Simone Fattal, Iranian artist Shirin Neshat, Italian artist Monica Bonvicini, and Milan-based artist of Senegalese origin Binta Diaw.
Each artist has used the illy cup as a canvas to reflect on pressing cultural, environmental, and social issues, sharing their experiences as women from diverse geographical and social backgrounds.
“We are proud to support SPARK Art Fair Vienna for the first time, a dynamic and innovative fair that makes contemporary art more accessible, democratic, and engaging. This new collaboration allows us to express illycaffè’s deep connection with the art world once again, a key element of our corporate culture.
By combining the excellence of our coffee with artistic creativity, we aim at offering visitors a unique moment of pleasure”, said Cristina Scocchia, CEO of illycaffè.
Searching for, discovering, and valorising that which is beautiful and new are some of the trademarks of illy’s corporate culture. To pursue these values, the Trieste-based Italian company collaborates with the main contemporary art fairs worldwide, including SPARK Art Fair, recognized for its democratic approach to contemporary art.
For illycaffè contemporary art adds beauty to taste. The beauty that illycaffè strives for comes from the ancient Greek concept of kalokagathìa, which combines kalòs (beautiful) and agathòs (good) to create a new meaning in which beauty and good become inseparable: one depends on the other.
The illy Art Collection cups are a tangible expression of this concept. The project was born in 1992, and through it, the company turned an everyday object into a blank canvas by inviting contemporary artists to express their creativity on the espresso cup that Matteo Thun designed for illy.
Over the years, more than one hundred internationally renowned artists worked on this canvas, including Michelangelo Pistoletto, Marina Abramović, Anish Kapoor, James Rosenquist, William Kentridge, Yoko Ono, Mona Hatoum, Robert Wilson, Ai Weiwei and more.
