Wine Bar of Paris, France
is pleased to announce the unveiling of
this year's limited edition fine art poster
as the 21st creation in Willi's Bottle Art
Collection. A whimsical mermaid on a plate
served with a glass of wine is this year's
colorful addition to the unique collection
of posters created by Willi's Wine Bar since
1983.
Each year brings the launch of a new poster
at the Parisian landmark wine establishment,
packed with art and wine lovers, glass in
hand, anxious to glimpse and perchance acquire
the latest creation. The 2007 release of
the 2004 vintage--for the posters are uncorked
only once they have been properly aged--designed
by the French artist Jacques de Loustal
brought down the packed house.
Willi's Bottle Art celebrates
wine. It is a fusion of forms, a visual
union of wine and art. The Bottle Art Collection
is Willi's special contribution to these
two sensory worlds. It encapsulates the
world of wine in elegant, limited edition
posters printed in France, the cradle of
great wines of the world.
Willi's Bottle Art is now available in the
United States at http://www.williswinebar.us/shop_home.asp
For the past 25 years, Mark Williamson,
owner and founder of Willi's Wine bar in
Paris, has commissioned an established artist
to create an image evoking the fine art
of drinking wine, constituting a sought
after collection of limited edition fine
art posters printed in Paris by master lithographers
and serigraphers. La Bibliothèque
Nationale, France's National Library, guardian
of the country's cultural heritage documents,
is currently in the process of acquiring
the complete collection of Willi's Bottle
Art. For in France and in other parts of
the world these posters have become contemporary
legends, works to collect and reflect upon.
Collectors of Willi's Bottle Art include
world-renowned wine authorities Jancis Robinson,
Steven Spurrier and Robert Parker. Several
posters are already out of print or are
in a second limited print run.
Willi's Wine Bar is a highly rated singular
Parisian wining and dining establishment,
regarded as one of the city of light's finest
wine bars ever since it opened its doors
in 1980.
Willi's Bottle Art all began with a never
released drawing featuring a wine bottle
designed by one of France's greatest poster
artists, A.M. Cassandre. The 1930's graphic
is believed to have been created for an
advertising campaign for France's Nicolas
wine shops. Willi's acquired the rights
to the image and its first original printing
in 1983 marked the birth of Willi's Bottle
Art. For Cassandre, the poster was "an
art form that provides the painter with
an ideal opportunity to communicate with
a broad public". His 1935 work features
a uniquely luminous portrayal of ruby red
wine being majestically poured into a glass,
Bottle Art in its essence. The mythic poster's
25th anniversary special second edition
is limited to 1,000 copies printed on cotton
wove.
The unique and original designs of the artists
who followed reflect the finesse of the
unparalleled diversity of wines that emerge
from the good earth . While wine is the
underlying theme of Willi's Bottle Art,
the styles beguile by their diversity. The
posters range from the sensual to the playful.
Mermaids, angels, flowers and faces all
celebrate wine through Willi's Bottle Art.
One finds the evocative in Japanese artist
Lyu Hanabusa's peaceful rendition of love.
Then there is the slightly provocative with
Arthur Cefai's colorful creation featuring
a bold turquoise corkscrew. Some proffer
spectacular colors while others underscore
the muted subtlety of black and white graphics.
Each is a unique, decorative work of art.
The artists, many of whose works hang in
galleries and museums throughout the world,
have all risen to the challenge of creating
a work of art-Bottle Art-- embodying wine
and the art of drinking it. Glimpse the
gallery at http://www.williswinebar.us/shop_home.asp
Through
Willi's Bottle Art boutique, visitors can
now choose and acquire in an easy on-line
sequence these sumptuously decorative posters
(while they last). They are perfect gifts
for oneself or the wine lover one knows.
All of the posters are available as limited
first editions with only 2,000 posters printed.
The luxurious Velin Editions, each hand
signed by the artist, number between just
100 & 200 copies. Demand ever so quickly
exceeds supply.
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