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The Ceramic Scenography of Artist Andrea Mancuso

by Karen LeBlanc
written by Karen LeBlanc

Miami Art Week 2019 Meet the Artist: Experience the Art Series

The Artist: Andrea Mancuso

The Idea: Stimulate Curiosity by Juxtaposing the Familiar with the Unexpected

The Art: Metamorphosis

In my Meet the Artist: Experience the Art Series from my visit to Miami Art Week, I introduce you to the work of Italian Designer Andrea Mancuso.

The Design Tourist, aka Karen LeBlanc, and the artist Andrea Mancuso who created the art installation Metamorphosis at Design/Miami

One of my favorite shows during Miami Art Week is Design/Miami for its immersive experiences, booths that are each a mise-en-scène, placing art objects and furniture into context. Design/Miami is the only satellite show that is laser-focused on design. There, you will find art, sculpture and themed environments such as the immersive scenography, Metamorphosis presented by Perrier-Jouët.

Metamorphosis presented by Perrier-Jouët and designed by Andrea Mancuso on view at Design/Miami

I’ve never seen anything like it—part sculpture, part art installation. The room is covered with ceramic flower blooms painted in the golden tones of the French champagne house’s vineyards. Milan-based Italian designer Andrea Mancuso created the art installation and tells me that I’m actually looking at 11,000 mounted ceramic pieces evoking the concave shape of the champagne bottles he saw maturing in the cellars of Perrier-Jouët.

Artist Andrea Mancuso, co-founder of the Analogia Project, working on his art installation Metamorphosis for Design/Miami at the Alessio Sarri Ceramic workshop.

“So of course, Champagne ages in bottles instead of barrels and they’re stacked on top of each other in the cellars, creating a beautiful pattern.  I use that pattern making irregular shapes and I use the color palette of the vineyards during the harvest,” says Mancuso. He is the co-founder of the Analogia Project, a multidisciplinary practice that uses design as a means to distort reality and to provoke emotional connections with the viewer. 

“I used ceramic for the possibilities of colors that I could achieve here. There are 11,000 pieces of ceramics in 15 different shades,” Mancuso says.

concave ceramic circles that mimic the bottoms of champagne bottles readied to be painted and installed in a landscape that evokes the Maison Perrier-Jouët vineyards at harvest time.

Metamorphosis is Maison Perrier-Jouët’s eighth collaboration with the fair and draws inspiration from the Art Nouveau movement’s unconventional observations of nature. “Loyal to the ethos of Art Nouveau, Mancuso’s work for the House unites traditional craftsmanship with modern technology and is infused with Maison Perrier-Jouët’s vision of reinvented nature”, explains Axelle de Buffévent, Style Director at Maison Perrier-Jouët.

Metamorphosis, interprets the Art Nouveau heritage of the Maison Perrier-Jouët merging art, history and design.

Mancuso created the space to evokes the Japanese concept of Engawa -a similar concept to a sunroom – that serves as a communal gathering space. His aim for all who entered the art installation was to stimulate curiosity and interaction by intercepting the familiar with the unexpected. 

Andrea Mancuso designed a collection of champagne glasses created with the Berengo Foundation in Murano – each inspired by the six characteristic Cuvée’s of Maison Perrier-Jouët and showcased at Design Miami/.

Based on conversations with Maison Perrier-Jouët Cellar Master Hervé Deschamps, Mancuso also designed six glasses, one for each cuvee that describes the notes and the characteristics of each champagne.

Andrea Mancuso designed a collection of champagne glasses created with the Berengo Foundation in Murano – each inspired by the six characteristic Cuvée’s of Maison Perrier-Jouët and showcased at Design Miami/.

The glasses were crafted by Murano-based glassblowers Fondazione Berengo using the demanding practice of lost-wax casting, an ancient technique of Art Nouveau artists. The same meticulous method was used for the champagne bowl that recalls the iconic anemone flower designed for the House in 1902 by Emile Gallé, a Master of Art Nouveau.

Italian ceramicists Alessio Sarri and Nuevoforme helped create the installation of glasses displayed in six alcoves on stands made using lost-wax casting.

The collection of glasses is displayed across six alcoves, presented on stands made using lost-wax casting. Italian ceramicists Alessio Sarri and Nuevoforme also worked on the alcove display and glasses.

“The Perrier-Jouët non-vintage cuvees are captured with the unbridled growth of blooming nature, with roots and leaves climbing up the stem to embrace the bowl of the glass. Whereas developed nature is interpreted with elegant, structured lines to evoke the Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque cuvees,” observes Hervé Deschamps.

Italian designer Andrea Mancuso, of Analogia Project, created Metamorphosis in the spirit of Art Nouveau. Mancuso’s work for the House unites traditional craftsmanship with modern technology.

Metamorphosis is one of several collaborations with designers and design institutions featured at Design/Miami, a global forum bringing together collectors, gallerists, designers, curators, and critics.  The show features the world’s top galleries presenting museum-quality exhibitions of the twentieth and twenty-first century furniture, lighting, and objets d’art. Design/Miami is held alongside the Art Basel fairs in Miami, Florida, each December and Basel, Switzerland, each June.

Learn more about the artists and art objects featured at Design/Miami in new episodes of The Design Tourist filmed at Miami Art Week.

For more on what’s new and next in travel and design, subscribe to The Design Tourist Channel and sign up for the blog email.

 

 

 

 

 

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Highlights From Red Dot Miami and Spectrum Miami

by Karen LeBlanc
written by Karen LeBlanc

With dozens of art fairs and shows Miami Art Week competing for my attention, it’s impossible to attend and experience every art, fashion and entertainment event. Shows extend from Miami Beach, anchored around Art Basel Miami, the mothership of all art fairs, and spread throughout downtown Miami and Wynwood District. My strategy is to experience a cross-section of art fairs that represent everything from blue-chip art to urban art which brings me to Red Dot Miami and Spectrum Miami, held inside Mana Wynwood convention center, December 4—8, 2019. 

The Design Tourist, aka Karen LeBlanc, at Spectrum Miami and Red Dot Miami, filming and reporting on innovative works and trends in the art world during Miami Art Week.

I attended the Opening Night Preview Party sponsored in association with Jadot and Bulleit Bourbon where I sipped on a , inspired by the iconic Bulleit Bourbon label and whiskey.

3D printed cocktail at the Bulleit 3D Printed Frontier bar

Nearby, I admired the debut of the Bulleit Art in a Bottle Collection.

Bulleit Frontier Whiskey partnered with Red Dot Miami and Spectrum Miami to create an art project of 12 original works of Bulleit Art in a Bottle

Bulleit Frontier Whiskey partnered with Red Dot Miami and Spectrum Miami to create an art project of 12 original works of Bulleit Art in a Bottle in collaboration with south Florida artists   Jason Skeldon “SKEL” and Elidea. Both artists are known for their unique visions and use of multiple mediums to create something new.

Jason’s art depicts human-animal hybrids who are taking their vocation to new heights, such as mixologists, scientists, architects and tattoo artists. Each character is shown raising a glass of whiskey to toast achievements and their commitments to innovating in new and inspiring ways.

Jason and Elidea’s art pieces are visual representations of what the cultural frontier means to them. Elidea’s Bulleit Art in A Bottle pieces depict the Cuban influence in Miami’s culture.The Bulleit Art in A Bottle Collection is available now at Saatchi Art 

 

What I like about Red Dot Miami and Spectrum Miami is their commitment to showcasing Florida artists.

An Italian native and Miami resident, Elidea with The Design Tourist, aka Karen LeBlanc filming her series The Design Tourist, along with videographer and co-producer Chris Fletcher at Spectrum Miami.

Artist Elidea lives in Miami and creates collages of mixed media working with gold and bronze leafing in layers with different papers and textures to create landscapes. 

The bronze and gold leaf layered collages of artist Elidea, the 2018 Spectrum Art show winner and the 2019 Spectrum Miami collaborator with Bulleit Frontier Whiskey’s Bottle Art Exhibition.

Artist Doug Powell based in Winter Park, Florida, works with recycled computer keys to create 3D sculpture and art.

Artist Doug Powell created a sculpture Gube Rubik’s crafted of 8,200 computer keys from a keyboard at ArtBlend , Spectrum

Doug creates the illusion of three-dimensional form through the use and arrangement of recycled, or up cycled, computer keyboard keys.

Florida artist Doug Powell placed his piece “Route 66,” for $16,000 at Spectrum Miami

Florida artist Paul Columbus showcased his Phantom Faces and Collaborations with Jennifer Friedland, at the Spectrum’s ArtBlend. Gator Skull, “Florida Boys” was the show stopper at his booth. The piece is a real Florida Alligator skull harvested from the waters of the Ochlockonee River in Northwest Florida and a limited release collaboration between the artist Paul Columbus and his lifelong friend and outdoorsman Justin  Rock. Both are Florida natives with a deep appreciation for native flora and fauna that define Florida landscape. 

Gator Skull, “Florida Boys” by Paul Columbus and Justin Rock at Spectrum Miami. The alligator skull is painted and coated in epoxy resin.

Columbus also presented his Phantom Faces collection, paintings of surrealistic faces blended with cubism.

The overarching theme at both shows was about creating awareness and connecting with humanity. At Spectrum Miami, I ran into two strange-looking characters clad in rags roaming the show as social sculptures. They were wearing Ghillie Suits, camouflage garb traditionally worn by snipers outdoors to blend in with their surroundings.

The Ghillie Suits by an anonymous artist in Boston who creates these suits to call attention to the opioid addiction crisis. The Design Tourist aka Karen LeBlanc with two models wearing the Ghillie Suits at Spectrum Miami.

“The Ghillie suit disrupts the silhouette and changes the figure making it invisible,” says Colin Beatty of the craft guild Unaffiliate exhibiting the Ghillie Suit Project. The Boston-based artist who designed the 10 Ghillie Suits featured at the art fair wishes to remain anonymous but says his art is a response to the opioid epidemic.  He crafted each suit from the articles of clothing from people who died from opioid addiction. “The artist took their wardrobe, shredded it and made camouflage suits of the people who died of addition to symbolize how they were hidden in plain sight. The artist is calling out the stigma attached to the disease of addiction.  The Ghillie Suit is a work of art that serves as a catharsis and recovery.”

Artist Eduardo Cabrer with The Design Tourist, aka Karen LeBlanc filming her series The Design Tourist, along with videographer and co-producer Chris Fletcher at Red Dot Miami

The work of artist Eduardo Cabrer calls attention to the single-use plastics problem polluting our waterways and beaches. Cabrer suspends found trash and objects in colored resin creating thought-provoking works that raise questions about consumerism and our throw-away culture. 

Artist Eduardo Carber’s resin encased Plasticid collection on view at Red Dot Miami

“It’s about creating an awareness of the excess of plastic that is out there. I find most of the objects that I use in my art on the beaches of Puerto Rico. I found the plastic bags in the streets of New York. It’s a contrast between the process of buying something and the process of disposing of something. It’s just creating that awareness of the eternity of plastic,” Eduardo says.

New Jersey-based artist Zevi G, shared a message of kindness with his interactive art installation featuring the character sculpture Gesture, part of an imaginary world called 456 Land.

The Design Tourist, aka Karen LeBlanc posing for a photo op with the bronze sculpture “Gesture” by artist Zevi G at Red Dot Miami Art Fair

The bronze, bow-tie clad sculpture held a rose and stood in front of a wall of roses. As I approached the booth for a photo op with Gesture, someone handed me a real long stem rose and encouraged me to “share kindness.” Part performance art,  guests were invited to fill out by postcard with the address of someone they wish to send kindness and Zevi G’s staff will mail the rose to the recipient on the postcard.

Crazy Sugar Montage by artist M VILLASIERRA (Mario Villarroel)

Crazy Sugar by artist Mario Villarroel is a critical reflection of society, in this case, its addiction to junk food.  The work is part of  Villarroel’s The Second Life collection that seeks to give a new beginning to everyday objects, that lost their value due to their usage. His paintings are collages that he decorates with disruptive memes.  

Spectrum Miami featured the works of more than 200 exhibiting galleries and artists from the Florida region, the U.S. and around the globe, informed by the 2019 curatorial theme [IGNITE]. Known for its urban and upscale works of art, the five-day show attracted more than 40,000 visitors and high-net-worth collectors who interact with the specially curated programming, while celebrating the fine art experience with music, entertainment and other special events.

Red Dot Miami, a curated gallery-only contemporary art fair, presented for its 14th year, saw the highly anticipated annual presentation of leading galleries and their artists, informed by [PASSION] as the curatorial theme for 2019. Red Dot Miami featured more than 60 galleries representing over 500 leading contemporary artists from primary and secondary markets throughout the world.

Learn more about the artists featured at Red Dot Miami and Spectrum Miami  in new episodes of The Design Tourist filmed at Miami Art Week.

For more on what’s new and next in travel and design, subscribe to The Design Tourist Channel and sign up for the blog email.

 

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Destination Design: Miami Beach Art Basel

by Karen LeBlanc
written by Karen LeBlanc

In this episode, The Design Tourist Karen LeBlanc travels to Miami Beach, Florida for Art Basel, a weeklong global arts gathering of artists, collectors, celebrities, models, moguls and more. Explore art and design at some of the best events on the packed arts calendar and learn why Miami is a must- see design destination. Among the celebrity sightings— actor Wilmer Valderrama and Supermodel Tyson Beckford.

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