With a roster of gorgeous hotels, cruise ships, and other properties across the globe, Belmond’s latest venture is a project in collaboration with the art space GALLERIA CONTINUA, called MITICO. This spring, the luxury travel brand (a member of the LVMH group since 2019) and the international gallery invited four creators for an art series that unfolded across four Belmond properties in Italy. The artists Subodh Gupta, Leandro Erlich, Michelangelo Pistoletto, and Pascale Marthine Tayou were welcomed to locations in Venice, Tuscany, Florence, and Taormina, respectively. Each location hosts a different installation through the end of 2022, and the artists’ work (encompassed in “Cooking the World,” “Viewing the World,” “Loving the World,” and “Colouring the World”) highlights the breathtaking beauty of the property grounds in a cultural exchange that embraces the art de vivre.
Subodh Gupta with “Cooking The World” for the art project Mitico at Cipriani, A Belmond Hotel, Venice, Italy, photo by © Marco Valmarana, courtesy the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, © ADAGP, Paris.
MITICO, which translates to “mythical” from the Italian, first launched in Venice in April at Cipriani, A Belmond Hotel, with Gupta’s “Cooking the World.” Its opening coincided with 59th International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia, where visitors to Cipriani’s Casanova gardens can find the Indian artist’s work (curated by Hervé Mikaeloff), examining rituals and symbols of food. Considering the sharing of a meal to be the ultimate form of acceptance and inclusion—a concept that offers common ground for many in both Eastern and Western cultures—Gupta created a house out of thousands of discarded utensils, pots, and pans. New culinary rituals are performed by the artist within its fully functional kitchen, activating the makeshift architectural space periodically with cooking and eating performances through November 19.
Exhibition view of “Viewing the World” by Leandro Erlich for the art project MITICO at Villa San Michele, A Belmond Hotel, Florence, Italy, photo by Agostino Osio from Alto Piano, courtesy of the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, © ADAGP, Paris.
Exhibition view of “Viewing the World” by Leandro Erlich for the art project MITICO at Villa San Michele, A Belmond Hotel, Florence, Italy, photo by Agostino Osio from Alto Piano, courtesy of the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, © ADAGP, Paris.
In Florence, Erlich invites visitors to view the world at Villa San Michele, A Belmond Hotel, with the appropriately named Window & Ladder, overlooking the Renaissance city. Those strolling the hillside hotel gardens will be tempted to climb the perplexing ladder, which leads up to a floating window, framing perfectly a small section of the picturesque landscape and city below. Remaining on display until November 7, the Argentinian artist’s work The Cloud (UK)—an entrancing feat of illusion achieved through glass, ceramic ink, and light—can also be found in the halls of the dreamy abode, given unique context when presented with the preserved frescoes of the former 15th-century monastery.
Michelangelo Pistoletto with “Loving the World” for the art project MITICO at Castello di Casole, A Belmond Hotel, Tuscany, Italy, photo by Agostino Osio from Alto Piano, courtesy of the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, © ADAGP, Paris.
Meanwhile in Tuscany, Pistoletto’s four bronze sculptures—Accarezzare gli alberi (l’Etrusco), or “Caress the trees”—interact with nature in “Loving the World.” Set against a backdrop of rolling hills at Castello di Casole, A Belmond Hotel, the figures can be found dressed in draped fabrics in a testament to Pistoletto’s bronze craftsmanship. Each has an arm or hand outstretched to tenderly brush the trees by which they’ve been positioned. When paired with the estate’s lush 4,200 acres and 1,000-year-old structures, Pistoletto’s dignified sculptures, installed until November 14, shed light on the location’s history and the inseparable connection to nature that comes with such a serene patch of countryside.
The final installation of MITICO (presented until December 31) resides in Taormina at the Grand Hotel Timeo, A Belmond Hotel. It’s here that the Cameroonian artist Tayou helps viewers to see the world in rainbow hues for the experience of “Colouring the World,” his own celebration of culture, life, and an understanding of self, perched in the mountains with breathtaking views of Sicilian waters. Tayou has activated the garden oasis with two installations: First, a simple application of paint called Les routes du Paradis outlines the path to happiness through pieces of natural stone walls painted intermittently with vibrant colors. The second, situated on stone pedestals and columns, is a lighthearted series of sculptures made of crystal (called Totem Cristals), taking on human characteristics and dressed to embody the process of creolization—like a pair of effeminate figures stationed outside of a door, dressed in fruited headdresses and skirts made of wooden bowls, or a particular statue clad in snorkeling gear.
While each installation of MITICO is openly available to hotel guests, the public may also access the works by registering with the respective property.
Pascale Marthine Tayou with “Colouring the World” for the art project MITICO at the Grand Hotel Timeo, A Belmond Hotel, Taormina, Italy, 2022, photo by Agostino Osio from Alto Piano, courtesy of the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, © ADAGP, Paris.
Exhibition view of “Colouring the World” by Pascale Marthine Tayou for the art project Mitico at the Grand Hotel Timeo, A Belmond Hotel, Taormina, Italy, 2022, photo by Agostino Osio from Alto Piano, courtesy of the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, © ADAGP, Paris.
