Robert Wilson - illy Art Collection

The Designer

This illy Art Collection designed by Robert Wilson. This new illy Art Collection was created during the annual International Summer Program. At this summer workshop, five artists - Christopher Knowles, Hope Esser, Willie Filkowski, Clo’e Floirat and Gintare Minelgaite - were chosen to depict the spirit of the Watermill Center on the iconic illy espresso cup in collaboration with Robert Wilson. The collection’s designs contain elements from the architecture and grounds of the Watermill Center, references to the art within its walls and recurring themes in Wilson’s work. The pack contains six cups six saucers; a booklet about the artists and their designs; and a poster that tells the story of the illy Art Collection.



Illy Art Collection

A passion for beauty and well-made objects, a deep admiration for contemporary art , and our blend’s exceptional quality all led us to combine coffee’s sensory pleasure with the aesthetic pleasure of art by rethinking an everyday object: the coffee cup.

This is how the illy Art Collections are born: small works of art in the form of a cup, numbered and signed, transforming the act of drinking an espresso into an experience that involves the senses and mind.