MASI - Costasera Contemporary Art: the sixth edition unveiled with the work of the Japanese artist Yasuhiro Asai

Masi, a Valpolicella winery and leader in the production of Amarone, strengthens its historic link with the world of culture by presenting the sixth edition of the 'Costasera Contemporary Art' ( CCA ) project , created to combine contemporary art with oenological excellence. The selected artist is the Japanese Yasuhiro Asai , an expert in the art of Japanese lacquer, known as ' urushi' , one of the oldest and most valuable in the Land of the Rising Sun. The work, entitled 'Saikou', is an incense burner which was reproduced on a limited edition of bottles of Costasera 2005 intended for international markets. The proceeds will be used to finance a scholarship that will allow a young Japanese artist to learn the art of glass in Murano.

The work and the Costasera bottles with artist labels will be presented at the Italian Embassy in Tokyo on November 1st to a selected audience of opinion makers and authorities.

'Saikou' means 'the fragrance of Europe': the inspiration for the work comes from Amarone Costasera, a symbol of the culture of a territory which is expressed in the aroma and taste of wine.

“ I believe that the care with which the taste and aroma of Amarone Costasera is obtained represents a true art, of profound elegance” explained the artist Yasuhiro Asai . “Starting from this concept, to create the work I used the traditional techniques typical of my culture, with a contemporary design, taking approximately two years of work to complete it. For the decorations, made of mother-of-pearl with blue and purple shades, I was inspired by the motif of bunches of grapes."

The result is an object of great preciousness and refinement that combines the ancient oriental culture of processing the sap obtained from the urushi tree with the equally ancient and fascinating culture of vine cultivation and wine production, an expression of the age-old knowledge of a people.

“In Japan, the second Asian market for wine consumption and the sixth largest wine importer in the world, Masi has had a consolidated presence for almost 40 years. Thanks to the collaboration with JET, a historic commercial partner, our Amarone Costasera has become a point of reference loved by Japanese wine-lovers; this fills us with pride " comments Alessandra Boscaini, Sales Director of Masi . “We are particularly happy that Yasuhiro Asai, an extraordinarily talented artist, has agreed to contribute to our Costasera Contemporary Art project, offering a perspective full of meaning that unites the ancient roots of Japanese knowledge with our winemaking tradition ."

Once again Amarone Masi, considered by President Sandro Boscaini "the best messenger of the territory", meets art and culture. The Veronese winery boasts a long tradition of patronage projects: from the Masi Award, promoted for over 40 years by the Masi Foundation to enhance the heritage and ingenuity and production capabilities of the Venetian Civilization; to the support of the Arena Foundation and the famous Opera Festival which has been promoting musical culture around the world for a hundred years; up to the collaboration with internationally renowned artists such as Liu Bolin, who in 2014 chose the Masi cellars as the set for one of his famous performances of chameleonic fusion with the environment, entitled 'Fade in Italy'