The historic and revolutionary Abruzzo winery Masciarelli are to launch into the world of contemporary art, on the occasion of the celebrations for its 40th anniversary, with  Masciarelli Art Project : a long-term project on an annual basis, characterized by an artist residency in his relais de charme among the vineyards for the creation of limited edition labels and a site specific installation.

Masciarelli Tenute Agricole, in fact, was born in 1981 in San Martino sulla Marrucina, a small hill town south of Chieti, from the entrepreneurial intuition of  Gianni Masciarelli, a symbolic figure of the Italian wine scene and protagonist of the affirmation of modern Abruzzo viticulture. Established and recognized as one of the most prominent and prestigious companies on the Italian scene, the winery, which since 2008 has been led by Gianni’s wife,  Marina Cvetic, and by daughter  Miriam Lee Masciarelli, is constantly committed to preserving that bold and revolutionary vision, which over the years has made it an interpreter in the world of the excellence of Abruzzo wines. “Gianni, my father, always said that passion without knowledge is incomplete, so you should never stop feeding your curiosity ”, says Miriam Lee Masciarelli. “ It is in the nature of our family, of our company, to always try to keep alive that tension towards the exploration of the new, while remaining firmly linked to our identity and our roots. This is the most precious legacy of my father and Masciarelli Art Project represents a further step within the commitment that we carry out with my mother in this direction ”.

MASCIARELLI ART PROJECT

Inspired by the seventeenth-century baronial  Castello di Semivicoli, an accommodation facility active for 10 years located on the hills of Abruzzo a few kilometers from the Majella National Park, “I don’t call it a hotel but an art house because we always invite our friends, artists, designers, writers, directors “, Miriam Lee Masciarelli has decided to set the period of residence of international artists right here: they will be invited year after year to immerse themselves in the history of the family and in this Abruzzo region full of suggestions to create their own works to be translated into labels of ‘artist.

JOB SMEETS BY STUDIO JOB: FIRST ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

The first artist invited is the Belgian talent  Job Smeets  (Hamont-Ache, 1969), ironic artist and conceptual designer, founder of  Studio Job , one of the most avant-garde and internationally recognized creative realities. Job Smeets, famous for his dreamlike and ironic approach and for having brought the stylistic features of the neo-gothic into design, revisiting them in a pop key. Their work, always on the crest between art and design and exhibited in over 40 museums around the world, has elements of complexity that make it impossible to give it a unique label. The interest in crafts and applied arts led Smeets and Tynagel to deepen ancient techniques such as gilding or bronze casting, but the two often also resort to laser cutting or 3D printing. Alongside humor, there is no shortage of references to Richard Wagner’s “total work of art”. Job Smeets residency took place in April and its fruits will be seen in October 2021.

THE FIRST EDITION OF MASCIARELLI ART PROJECT

“ It is an honor to be the protagonist of the first edition of Masciarelli Art Project – says Job Smeets – the tradition and magnificence of this land and this company are a great inspiration for me. Gianni Masciarelli founded the winery with an incredibly far-sighted vision, today carried out with courage by two extraordinary women Marina and Miriam. Immersing myself in the unique and evocative atmosphere of the Semivicoli Castle, I was overwhelmed by centuries of history, surrounded by the beauty of nature and the enormous variety of vineyards. I was extremely fascinated by the elements that help to safeguard them: roses, bees, herbs, flowers, symbols of a vigorous nature that supports the delicate balance of wine production “.