Since its inception in 1992, the illy Art collection has collaborated with hundreds of leading contemporary artists, including top art world luminaries such as Marina Abramovic, Yoko Ono, Robert Rauschenberg, Je‑ Koons, Julian Schnabel, Anish Kapoor, Daniel Buren, James Rosenquist. Each has lent their creativity and singular imprint onto illy’s cups, creating a rich cadre of collectible table top objects. The espresso cup itself, designed by architect Matteo Thun in 1991, is by now ubiquitous throughout Italy and the rest of the world, an immediately symbol of high-quality and passionate attention. illy Art Collection: small works of art, taking ceramic cup as medium, transforming the simple pleasure of drinking an espresso into an experience that fully engages the senses and the mind.

This edition of the illy Art Collection celebrates the great intellectual, painter and art critic Gillo Dorfles, one of the most eclectic figures in the world of Italian art and culture. For the illy Art Collection dedicated to him, Dorfles has taken inspiration from a number of his works from the end of the 1930s, made with egg tempera: a technique favoured by the great masters of the fifteenth century.