Keith Haring Wine Launches at Spring Place New York, in Partnership with Mass Appeal, David ‘Chino’ Villorente, and Music Video Night – Celebrating 30 Years of Tuttomondo
To say the sunken living room of Spring Place was “flowing with good vibes” would be an understatement – thanks not only to the beautiful 2015 Keith Haring Super Tuscan Wine being poured by the glass, but also to the dynamic and diverse crowd of wine critics, influencers and tastemakers. Castellani vineyards introduced their latest art-centric label to the public – a gifted, one-of-a-kind Keith Haring work of art made specifically to be used on a wine label produced by the Castellani family.
The shoulders of film directors rubbed with videographers and creators across the art, music and fashion communities. Produced on the Ceppaiano estate in Tuscany, the 2015 vintage Super Tuscan Castellani wine features a label originally created by Keith for a friends restaurant, though he quickly left the piece in the hands of Piergiorgio requesting the label be used on a prestigious wine in the future.
Footage from the Tuttomondo documentary was screened while Castellani wines were sipped. The year of Piergiorgio Castellani and Keith Haring’s chance meeting was 1988. “We met quite randomly on a sidewalk in the East Village. I was a young student from Pisa, passionate about art – Keith was at the peak of his career. I recognized him immediately and invited him to do something important in Italy….. The next day I was in his studio as we started working on the creation of Tuttomondo’’ said Piergiorgio Castellani. Tuttomondo was completed in June of 1989 by Keith Haring with the help and support of Piergiorgio and the Pisa community. This was the last public work created by Keith, and the largest in scale.
The evening got nostalgic with a Q&A lead by the founder of Music Video Night, Gregg Kaysen. David “Chino” Villorente was the star speaker who reflected on Keith Haring’s influence on the street art community and graffiti cultures. Music video snippets from the 80’s and 90’s were screened in-between conversation, painting a colorful picture alongside a rich and informative conversation.
From the friendship with Keith came Piergiorgio’s continued passion for art and his appreciation for the significance of self expression. He founded Materia Prima, the non-profit “Artist Sanctuary” program which hosts up and coming artists from around the world to cultivate their craft at the Tuscan vineyard estate, free of cost, and free of judgement or outside influence. The proceeds of the Keith Haring Wine will support the Materia Prima Artist Residency. The Ceppaiano Estate is the latest addition to the constellation of historic Castellani family vineyards, whose Villa now houses the artists of Materia Prima. The Ceppaiano Villa is also home to a collection of contemporary art left with the Foundation by past artists of the program. Piergiorgio will collaborate with artists of Materia Prima to select works of art to feature on his wine labels, as he had done with the first wines born from Ceppaiano, in collaboration with Violetta Viola.
‘’I don’t think art is propaganda; it should be something that liberates the soul, provokes the imagination and encourages people to go further. It celebrates humanity instead of manipulating it.’’ – Keith Haring
For its 30th anniversary of Tuttomondo, this year the project finds its realization thanks to this commemorative Super Tuscan cuvée. “This wine is dedicated to freedom of expression in every area of civil life.’’ – Piergiorgio Castellani