Immersive Infinity Installation Photo by Foll.ia Photo: Pasqua Wines.
Have you ever ventured inside a human-sized kaleidoscope? We’ve always had a fascination with kaleidoscopes but walking into an immersive “Infinity Room” designed as a kaleidoscope was a new experience for us.
The art installation at the Giardino Giusti in Verona was part of a special exhibition by Foll.ia studio entitled “Ode al Futuro” commissioned by the Veronese wine company, Pasqua Vigneti E Cantine, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its founding in 1925. It is also the title of a book by the same name published by Rizzoli and curated by Filippo Bologna in celebration of the winery’s centennial. The exhibition was open to the public during the 57th edition of Vinitaly, Veronafiere in Verona April 5 through 9. We had the pleasure of attending a welcome cocktail reception to view the exhibition.
Original art by Enzo Ragazzini for Ode al Futuro
Wine: Famiglia Pasqua Amarone Della Valpolicella DOCG, a classic Amarone blended with Corvina 65% Rondinella 25% Corvinone 10% aged 18-20 months en barrique.
Artist Giuseppe Ragazzini is an Italian visual artist whose work spans painting, animated painting, and video scenography, exploring the intersection between analog and digital worlds.
Original art by Giuseppe Ragazzini for Ode al Futuro. In person, each circle of this art rotates.
Wine: Mai Dire Mai Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG, a single vineyard wine from the 23-hectare Montevegro hilltop vineyard between the Val d’Illasi and the Val di Mezzane, A blend of Corvina 65% Corvinone 15% Rondinella 10% Oseleta 10%. The wine’s translates to “Never say never.”
Artist: Michael Mapes is an American collage artist who developed a distinctive style of deconstructing and reassembling original images into intricate mosaics made up of hundreds of fragment from myriad objects, creating what he calls “biographical DNA.”
Original art by Michael Mapes for Ode al Futur0
Wine: 11 Minutes is Famiglia Pasqua’s new rosé interpretation created from a blend of grapes including Corvina, Trebbiano di Lugana, Syrah and Carmenère. The name 11 MINUTES refers to the duration of the skin contact for the soft pressing of grapes.
Artist: Sofia Crespo is an Argentine visual artist based in Portugal with a passion for art and technology. Her works examine the similarities between AI-generated imagery and human creativity, as well as how humans cognitively perceive artistic expression.
Original art by Sophia Crespo for Ode al Futuro
Wine: Hey French You Could Have Made This But You Didn’t Veneto IGT Bianco Edizione IV is a blend of the best vintages of the last decade: 2019 -2016-2021-2020-2018-2017-2013 with 3-4 months aging on lees to create a structed and complex wine.
Artist: Gaia Alari is an Italian visual artist, illustrator and animator whose works explore the interaction of ephemeral shapes and figures with space and time, represented on paper using charcoal and pastels.
Original art by Gaia Alari for Ode al Futuro
Wine: Terre di Cariano by Cecilia Beretta Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva DOCG, a blend of Corvina 60% Rondinella 25% Corvinone 5% Croatina 5% Oseleta 5% aged 24 months barrique.
The gala reception was hosted by Famiglia Pasqua at Giardino Giusti, a stunning 16th century Italian Renaissance palazzo and garden designed by Agostino Giusti, Knight of the Republic of Venice. The evening was unseasonably cool in the expansive courtyard and gardens but hospitality inside was warm.
Umberto Pasqua, company president, and his two sons, Riccardo Pasqua, CEO, and Alessandro Pasqua, president of Pasqua USA were in a celebratory mood and somewhat emotional as they spoke to the crowd of VIPS.
“Art and wine share a language of creativity,” said CEO Riccardo Pasqua. “In challenging times, they inspire optimism – just as our wines have for 100 years.”
Alessandro Pasqua, Umberto Pasqua and Riccardo Pasqua
The art installation at Giardino Giusti was one of several cultural events hosted by Pasqua in Verone during Vinitaly, including complimentary guided tours to the Modern Art Gallery and literary discussions at Schille Forti Gallery.
At the opening ceremony of Vinitaly, Veronafiere S.p.A. President Federico Bricolo presented Umberto Pasqua and Pasqua Wines with the Vinitaly International Award in the Italy category, recognizing the winery’s 100-years as a global industry leader.
Pasqua has long demonstrated a commitment to supporting the arts, investing of over €5.5 million in art patronage since 2018. This includes a major partnership with the renowned Saatchi Gallery in London, it first collaboration with a major international arts institution outside Italy.
Listen to our conversation with Alessandro Pasqua (first aired 2019) on The Connected Table Live. Click below: