Masi unveils selection of Amarone Costasera 2005 with work by Japanese artist Yasuhiro Asai

“Saikou”, the name of the work, an incense burner, means “the fragrance of Europe”, and inspiring the author, Japanese artist Yasuhiro Asai, an expert in the art of Japanese lacquer known as “urushi”, one of Japan’s oldest and most prized, was Amarone Costasera as a symbol of the culture of a territory that is expressed in the aroma and taste of the wine, and in whose label it is reproduced. Through its iconic wine, Masi, Valpolicella’s leading Amarone producer, renews its link with culture by presenting edition no. 6 of the “Costasera Contemporary Art” (Cca) project, created to unite contemporary art with winemaking excellence in a limited edition of Costasera 2005 destined for international markets, which will be presented along with the work on November 1 at the Italian Embassy in Tokyo in front of a select audience of opinion makers and authorities, and whose proceeds will go to fund a scholarship that will allow a young Japanese artist to learn the art of glassmaking in Murano.
“The care with which the taste and aroma of Amarone Costasera are obtained represents a true art, of profound elegance”, explains artist Yasuhiro Asai. “Starting from this concept, I used the traditional techniques typical of my culture with a contemporary design to create the work, taking two years to complete. For the decorations, made of mother-of-pearl with blue and purple hues, I was inspired by the grape cluster motif”. The result is an object of great preciousness and refinement that combines the ancient oriental culture of processing sap from the urushi tree with the equally ancient and fascinating culture of vine cultivation and wine production, an expression of a people’s age-old knowledge.
“In Japan, Asia’s second-largest wine consumption market and the world’s sixth-largest wine importer, Masi has had an established presence for nearly 40 years. Thanks to the collaboration with Jet, a historical commercial partner, our Amarone Costasera has become a beloved reference point for Japanese wine lovers”, emphasizes Alessandra Boscaini, Masi sales director. “Yasuhiro Asai, an artist of extraordinary talent, has agreed to contribute to our “Costasera Contemporary Art” project, offering a rich perspective that combines the ancient roots of Japanese knowledge with our wine-making tradition”.
Masi Amarone, considered by president Sandro Boscaini “the best messenger of the territory”, once again meets art and culture. The Veronese winery has a long tradition of patronage projects: from the “Masi Prize”, promoted for more than 40 years by the Masi Foundation to enhance the heritage and skills of ingenuity and production of the Venetian Civilization, to the support of the Fondazione Arena di Verona and its famous Opera Festival, which, for 100 years, has been promoting musical culture in the world, 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 chameleon-like fusion with the environment, entitled “Fade in Italy”.