Get ready to embark on a mesmerizing journey into the world of contemporary art and luxury hospitality! MITICO, Belmond’s groundbreaking artistic series in partnership with Galleria Continua, is back for its second season and it’s bigger and better than ever before. Launching internationally in 2023, this season’s installations will grace the walls and gardens of some of the world’s most iconic and legendary Belmond properties, including La Residencia in Mallorca, Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro, and Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons hidden in the Oxfordshire’s hills, just to name a few.
This year’s installations focus on the complex and ever-evolving relationship between human identity and the natural world, as well as the intersection of technology and raw landscapes. Taking inspiration from the unique views, gardens, and facades of these iconic properties, the art installations create a breathtaking and thought-provoking experience that reframes these vistas in a new light. By exploring the intricate interplay between art and nature, MITICO invites its audience to contemplate our place in the world and our relationship with the environment around us.
Our journey begins in Mallorca’s UNESCO protected Sierra de Tramuntana, where the Hotel is drenched in bohemian spirit, playing home to writers, artists and musicians seeking inspiration, for decades. Within this natural oasis and creative escape, Italian artist Arcangelo Sassolino’s work Hunger (2006/2007) will stand in harsh juxtaposition. Through this oversized claw composed of large steel blades, the artist strips the industrial object of its function and context, placing it on a flat surface where it cannot gain traction – thus rendering it obsolete. Although unable to uproot the beautiful surrounding landscape, the continuous lacerating motion of the claw leaves furrows on the concrete as if it is seeking to sculpt a new identity within Belmond’s beautiful gardens.
Jumping righ into the Taormina Hills a Belmond Hotel offers a front row on the eternal island’s beauty. Here, artist Yoan Capote installs a selection of sculptures, encircling an olive tree, overlooking the force of nature that is Mount Etna volcano. These works represent acts of resistance, moments where human instinct is to revolt in the face of neglect or domination by global forces. On the beautiful shores of Taormina Mare, Yoan Capote displays Family Portrait an installation meant as an ode to the artist’s own heritage. Hailing from Cuba, he portrays the sea as a force of both connection and isolation – a means of escape but also a barrier to do so.
Travelling now to Oxfordshire, Belmond presents Arborexence (2023,) a sculptural installation by Loris Cecchini, composed of a lattice of stainless steel that spreads harmoniously over the façade of the hotel. The artists’ sculptural piece highlights science through its molecular composition, branching out and expanding on the building’s facade, mirroring the ivy’s natural propagation. The sculpture becomes a second skin, tracing, restoring and renewing the building itself. Going beyond the purely aesthetic aspect of nature, Loris Cecchini seeks to discover what lies beneath the surface, using scientific means to unveil complex structures and chemical bonds.
Join us as we immerse ourselves in the stunning world of MITICO, where the boundaries between art and luxury hospitality are blurred, and the natural world is transformed into a canvas for contemporary expression.This is an experience not to be missed!
