Paris, France — As The Paris Art Week draws to a close and with it Asia Now, dedicated to contemporary Asian art, fortunately some things remain, notably the illy Art Collection. The fine house of world renowned coffee is one of the official partners of Asia Now and during the fair the house launched its latest collection of illy Art: coffee cups decorated with the classic signature art works of the great Korean artist Lee Ufan. The cups, a set of two expresso cups and a set of two cappuccino cups, were presented at the renowned contemporary art gallery Galerie Mennour in the heart of the Latin Quarter. The cups are decorated with a minimalist single brush stroke allowing the white porcelain to dialogue clearly with the painting. A retrospective of Lee Ufan’s works is being showcased at the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin from October 27th until April 28th. 

Lee Ufan is one of the founders of the avant-garde Mono-Ha or School of Things, a non-conformist artistic movement revolving around the study of nature and the raw materials made by man, which developed in Tokyo at the end of the 1960s. « We are delighted to have done this illy Art Collection with Lee Ufan, an artist who attracted us with his capacity to describe complex concepts through his essential strokes », said Cristina Scocchia, the CEO of illycaffé, « Through the decoration of these cups, the artist wanted to offer the ideal physical and temporal space dedicated to people and to the environment that surrounds us as a coffee break to enjoy in a simple fashion, transmitted by his artistic approach. » 

Illycaffé is a family-owned Italian house of fine gourmet coffee founded in the city of Trieste 90 years ago in 1933.  The illy Art Collection encompasses coffee cups decorated by more than 125 artists from all over the world as well as coffee makers designed by internationally renowned designers. The Lee Ufan collection is available on line, in illy boutiques and cafés and in select museums and some large stores where illy is sold. Reporting Sylvain Loire. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette. https://www.illy.com/