Ornellaia makes 114,000 euros at charity auction in L.A.

((AGI) Siena, May 20 - Ornellaia Vendemmia d'Artista, a project started in 2009, plans to use an artist of world renown to interpret the features of a grape harvest. The Bolgheri-based company hired Japanese artist Yutaka Sone for the 8th event, on the theme of "elegance". This year the charity auction organised by Sotheby's, which was held on Thursday night in Los Angeles, raised 114,000 euros (128,000 dollars) which will be sent by Ornellaia to the Hammer Museum. The project has raised more than 1 million euros which have been donated to foundations and museums across the world to support art . Institutions involved include NYC's Whitney Museum, Berlin's Neue Nationalgalerie, the Royal Opera House in London, the H2 Foundation in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Milan's Museo Poldi Pezzoli, the AGO in Toronto and the Fondation Beyeler in Basel. On May 19, Ornellaia held a charity auction, with nine lots, including nine special bottles created by Yutaka Sone for Ornellaia 2013 'L'Eleganza Vendemmia d'Artista' [Elegance - Artistic Vintage], held during a dinner where Andrea Fiuczynski, Sotheby's Executive Vice President, Chairman of the Americas, Head of Sotheby's West Coast, raised funds to be donated to the location hosting the event, the Hammer Museum of Los Angeles, directed by Ann Philbin. These special bottles will be on display at the Italian Embassy in Tokyo on June 23, at the official programme organised to celebrate the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Italy and Japan. Ornellaia invites Yutaka Sone to create a marble "site specific" work on the theme Elegance, selected for the 2013 vintage, for its estate as well as some exclusive signature labels for 190 large Ornellaia wine bottles. The labels have been created for 100 double Magnum (3-litre) bottles, eight Imperial (six-litre) bottles and a unique, Salmanazar (nine-litre) bottle. The artist has also created the Ornellaia 750 cl bottles, and one will be included in every six-bottle wood case. Yutaka Sone said: "When I started working on this project, having carved marble all my life, I knew exactly which direction I had to take to interpret the character of 'Elegance - Ornellaia 2013'. I, therefore, decided to visit the Carrara marble quarries, where Michelangelo used to get the material for his famous sculptures. Two dear friends of mine, Luc Tuymans and Rikrit Tiravanija, came along with me on this special journey, and we had a picnic in that magic place, on the mountain tops, surrounded by white marble quarries, overlooking the sea at a distance. For me this place captures the sublime elegance of nature and was inspiring. All this as we dined with excellent wine and talked about our long-time friendship. As you can see from the labels I created, I interpreted the value of sharing, of friendship and of this extraordinarily unique experience."(AGI). .