Research, innovation and aesthetics. These are just a few of the elements that, for 60 years, have permeated the daily activities of the Sanlorenzo shipyards, builders of luxury yachts and mega yachts. Attention that has, over the years, brought the illustrious boating brand to work together with authoritative designers such as Rodolfo Dordoni, Citterio Viel, Piero Lissoni, Patricia Urquiola, John Pawson and Christian Liaigre. This same tendency towards new prospects, languages, harmony and beauty can also be found in contemporary art.

This is why it does not seem so unusual that there is a  connection between the shipyard, led by Cavalier Massimo Perotti, and the art world, when it became, in 2018, a global partner for one of the most important modern art exhibitions at an international level, Art Basel, for their annual events in Hong Kong, Basel and Miami Beach. The objective: to bring on board new creative languages and forge an active connection with the art world.

The heart of this partnership between boating and creativity was well explained during Art Basel 2019 held in Basel: “Innovating, founding and constantly expanding imagination by opening it to new creative languages, to generate unexplored and unexpected relationships. Over the years this singular approach has allowed Sanlorenzo to connect with the art world, showcasing a different way of enjoying the sea and bringing new life to the yachting industry.”

SANLORENZO ARTS AND ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH

It is with the aim of consolidating its support for contemporary art and creativity that, in 2021, the company founded Sanlorenzo Arts, an “active and interactive” channel – as stated in the press release – “for art and design projects that discuss current world events in the most original and resourceful way, thanks to the work of artists, designers, thinkers and creatives.”

In occasion of Art Basel Miami Beach, from 2 to 4 December 2021, Sanlorenzo Arts will present their commissioned, site specific piece, “Cobalto”, painted by American artist McArthur Binion, on display in the Sanlorenzo Lounge inside the Art Basel Collectors Lounge. The piece is part of the “DNA” series, which the artist began working on in 2013.

“Binion’s work – explains a note from Sanlorenzo Arts – brings together collage, design and painting to create autobiographical abstracts. Using his body for scale, he builds compositions starting with vivid geometric patterns, chained to a grid. From up close, the painting reveals a substrate of copies of personal documents, juxtaposed and rhythmically patterned: pages from the artist’s address book, his birth certificate and photos of his childhood home in Mississippi […].”

“For this specific piece – concludes the note – the choice of using Italian ink, using its original name, “Cobalto”, is the connection between the artist’s practice and the deep and unknown marine world of Sanlorenzo”, which, since 2020, has also been the Institutional Patron for the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice.