Our partnership with Triennale Milano continues

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Peruvian wool, Murano glass and Nigerian tarps. Lorenzo Vitturi’s installations are a blend of distant cultures and materials passed from hand to hand, mixing, transforming and reinventing themselves into a work of art.

During Milan Design Week, the exhibition space in the Caffè Triennale will host “Terra-cotta, Plastic Pots and Chai and Chinese Hibiscus”, the tapestry by Vitturi that we and our institutional partner Triennale Milano have chosen to celebrate the importance of these cross-cultural exchanges.  Our aim is to offer a new perspective on the relationship between art and sustainability, highlighting the importance of human relationships through the exchange of experiences and geographically distant cultures.

The partnership

This artwork therefore begins a new chapter in our partnership since 2019 with Triennale Milano, with which we share a belief in the value of positive and sustainable art. The installation follows on from ‘Under a Coffee Tree’, presented last year at the 23rd International Exhibition and created by Burkina Faso-born architect Diébédo Francis Kéré.

It is no coincidence that the location hosting the artworks is the central space in the Caffè Triennale, which was recently restyled in a project with our active involvement. Today the café is an inviting space in which to stop for a break, meet and exchange experiences, forming part of the community of Coffee Defenders, or the baristas who work actively to spread the culture of coffee that is sustainable both for the Earth and for people.

The artwork

Vitturi’s tapestry blends different elements and crafts, using waste materials from the glass and textiles production processes. The work forms part of the Jugalbandi (‘intertwined twins’) series and in this case refers to the dialogue between the women artisans of the Jaipur Rugs Foundation (an association working in India to promote the socio-economic development of local communities through textiles) and the artist, who combines various weaving techniques to create installations integrated with elements that tell the story of his life.

The combination of materials from distant lands gives shape to a unique piece that visualizes the concept of ‘changing from hand to hand’, or the transfer of different experiences and knowledge between geographically distant cultures: which is precisely what happens in the coffee supply chain, starting with growers and ending with consumers.

“With this installation, we want to highlight the importance of human relationships, because the interaction between people of different ages and cultures unleashes a creative energy that triggers change towards a better world,” emphasised Group Board Member Francesca Lavazza.