ILLY ART COLLECTION BY LUCA TRAZZI – VENEXIA PLATINUM (1997)

This Venetian architect manages to profoundly understand and interpret a coffee cup, or rather, a series of cups – “Gold,” “Platinum” and “White” – presented on the occasion of the 1997 Venice Biennale. “VeneXia” and its author thus memorialize end-of-the-millennium Venetian culture and its past splendour.

Designers are inspired by the illy cup handle. By turning the handle into a figurehead, Luca Trazzi turns the cup into a gondola, which glides away in its triple version of white, platinum and gold. VeneXia was produced for the 47th edition of the Venice biennale: by making an everyday item like a cup valuable, Trazzi is paying a playful tribute to his roots in Veneto and to the town which hosts the most prestigious exhibition of contemporary art.