The term for this style of art is neo-iconography,
hitherto territory occupied by another of Bellino’s subjects,
the late Andy Warhol. American icons don’t come much
bigger than Warhol nor, indeed, Mr. Palmer.
Bellino was originally inspired by the palette of 12 shiny
colors in which the capsules come while sipping an espresso
with his wife Marina, an interior decorator and visual artist,
at Nespresso’s flagship Madison Avenue bar.
He noticed the beauty and graphic power of the
capsules displayed on the wall and immediately came up with
the concept of transforming them into pixels, and art. The
plan was to produce 50 panels from a total of 125,000 capsules!
Getting hold of that many items was the first problem, so
even before leaving the Nespresso store, he called his friend
Ivan Zurita, CEO of Nestlé, Brazil, and he put Bellino in
touch with U.S. Nespresso’s vice-president, Michelle McFault.
Within a few weeks, 130,000 capsules were delivered to
the Bellino’s Key Biscayne home. As their expiration date had
exceeded, they were meant to be recycled anyway.
Bellino, now 45, contemplated the fast-paced world of
digitized images and envisioned a concept representative of
functional object and celebrity defined as a reinterpretation
of our cultural process. Up close the panels are a myriad of
perfectly aligned colorful shapes, but step back and the iconic
faces materialize. From simple object to techno, if the artwork
is viewed through a cell phone it is no longer a micro view, but
a clear image staring back.
“For ages, man has used art to honor and pay tributes
to muses, gods and heroes,” Bellino says. “Nespressions is
our humble form to express our respect for a few special
individuals who occupied significant space in recent history
and have inspired many generations. Nespressions is meant
to be a continuing work in progress. We will keep creating
new portraits in celebration and appreciation of talent.
Nespressions It is our tribute to excellence.”
The idea of cultivating challenging concepts goes
along with Bellino’s background as an individual who sees
opportunities where others may not. Before his 21st birthday,
he partnered with John Casablancas to open Elite Models in
São Paulo, Brazil which ultimately launched the careers of
Giselle Bundchen and Adriana Lima.
Years later, Donald Trump told Bellino he had three
minutes to give his pitch for a prospective Brazilian real
estate development, and the result was a record for the world’s
fastest deal. Bellino was so impressed he created a portrait
panel of Trump from 2,500 capsules, which the property
tycoon liked so much he installed it in his New York office.
Nespresso will donate all proceeds from the Tasting
Bar exhibition to four partner charities: the British Memorial
Garden (britishmemorialgarden.org), The Princess Grace
Foundation-U.S.A. (pgfusa.com), Prince Albert II of Monaco
Foundation–U.S.A. (fpa2.mc) and Musicians on Call
(musiciansoncall.org). And a coffee table book depicting the
entire Nespressions collection will be released by the end of
this year, following a series of exhibitions around the world.
Bid
Now for
Arnie’s portrait
kingdom is auctioning Nespresso’s Arnold Palmer
portrait to benefit the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children
(arnoldpalmerhospital.com). From now until the end of
October, enter a bid at arnieskingdom.com and you could
win a stay in Orlando and meet the man himself. At the end of
October, the winning bidder will be invited (with a partner) to the
Kingdom Cup at Bay Hill Club & Lodge—an invitation-only event,
hosted by Arnold Palmer. All expenses will be paid (minus flights
and incidentals) and his or her bid will serve as the reserve price
at a live auction to take place at the tournament. Naturally the
lucky recipients will be included in the bidding process!
Once an ultimate winner is determined, Arnold Palmer
will sign and present the portrait. For more:
arnieskingdom.com/nespresso