Created in collaboration with the 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, this exclusive illy Art Collection celebrates the fusion of contemporary art and the daily ritual of coffee. Curated by Cecilia Alemani, the Artistic Director of the Biennale Arte 2022, the collection brings together six distinctive voices from the international art world: Felipe Baeza, Giulia Cenci, Precious Okoyomon, Alexandra Pirici, Aki Sasamoto, and Cecilia Vicuña.
Each artist was invited to transform the iconic illy espresso cup into a miniature work of art—reimagining it as a canvas that reflects their unique worldview, cultural heritage, and creative language. Though bound by the same timeless shape, each cup offers a radically different expression, making this set a true collector’s piece.
“I invited six very special, and quite different artists from the Biennale Arte 2022 to design coffee cups for illy... While bound by such an iconic shape as that of the illy cup, each of them has been able to transform this small everyday object into a window into their own imagery. After all, a coffee cup is a small canvas to work with – its design demands stylistic brevity, a talent for ingenious succinctness.”— Cecilia Alemani, Curator of the Biennale Arte 2022
Celebrate the intersection of art and espresso with this limited-edition collection—where each sip becomes a sensory experience, and each cup tells a story.