Artists for Frescobaldi Award 2018 is an annual event that celebrates wine, involving three artists in the interpretation of the CastelGiocondo estate and in the realization of the label’s design of CastelGiocondo Brunello di Montalcino bottles. The event was conceived in 2012 by Tiziana Frescobaldi and edited by Ludovico Pratesi and historically it is connected to the ancient patronage of the Frescobaldi family, which since the Renaissance has been close to the greatest artists.

Francesco Arena, Sonia Kacem and Claudia Comte, artists competing for the 2018 edition, presented three very different works.

Collater.al had the pleasure of interviewing Francesco Arena.

What idea did you follow to make Frescobaldi label?

The label is a tribute to Boetti, it’s playful, on the other hand, the wine is Castel Giocondo, so I thought it was the right approach to follow. The work consists of a single phrase, developed on a spiral-like line, which follows the shape of the label. It is an extemporaneous phrase carried forward to the extreme, until the end of the space, so as to have to turn the bottle back to be able to read it all.

Your works for Pinelli, Moro, the Bologna massacre and the “Sickle and Hammer” series highlight your political commitment. Is it possible to watch your works in a detached way?

The works I have done on these occasions go beyond the characters to whom they are dedicated. These people have had lives and ends that represent something larger, beyond their lives. The work must be looked at in its form, within it there are stories and suggestions.

What are numbers, measurements for you?

Numbers and measurements are the things with which we try to give an order to the universe, man through them wants to give a sense and a precise position in the world. Without it, we would have considerable difficulty.

How much is Apulia present in your works?

Puglia is present as landscape and heritage, I continue to live in Puglia among other things: I can say that it is present in the absence.

Can the artist still engage in social work today? What advice would you give to an emerging artist?

The artist is engaged in social even when it is not because simply the point of view of the artist is a political point of view of a man. I can’t give tips, the artists do not ask for advice and do not accept them.

Visit the event website at the link you find here.