Philip Colbert. Air-Ink on recycled A2 Paper

Eco-art organisation Platform Earth is creating an exhibition of works by leading artists made from air pollution, at Frieze London. The aim of CARBON is to raise funds for a highly worthy environmental charity while raising awareness of our carbon footprint, as Ella Johnson reports.

Frieze London will see an innovative new stand by Platform Earth, showing CARBON, an eco-exhibition devoted to sustainability and featuring works by prominent UK based-artists, being sold in aid of marine carbon capture initiatives supported by eco-fundraising organisation Platform Earth.

Platform Earth is the brainchild of Petroc Sesti, with assistance in curation by Mark Sanders, Jessica Carlisle and Richard Wadhams. The show exhibits works by Tracey Emin, Brian Eno, Shezad Dawood, Ben Okri, among others. All works have been created using the medium of Air-Ink, a pioneering, carbon-negative ink made from air pollution.

Proceeds from the sales will go to Platform Earth’s Great British Sea Forest initiative and the  Sussex Kelp Restoration Project, a project working to restore depleted kelp forests on the Sussex coast. In Platform Earth’s first year, it has successfully supported the Sussex Wildlife Trust in passing a bylaw banning trawling on 300 KM2 of the south coast, now the largest marine restoration project in the UK. Sesti points out that the marine-based plant is a potential game-changer when it comes to reducing CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. “Capable of growing three metres in just four months, kelp can draw down carbon more than twenty times faster than land-based alternatives. Once restored to its original size, the Sussex kelp forest could remove the equivalent of London’s entire art industry’s emissions year on year,” he says.

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Sesti himself has a name where art and conservation meet. In addition to having founded Platform Earth last year – which strives to bring artists and scientists together to bring about carbon neutrality in the art world – he has collaborated with David Attenborough, and NASA astronaut and artist Nicole Stott on conservation initiatives dealing with deforestation and carbon capture. His work, which often takes a broadly cosmological focus, is also displayed at the Yacht Club de Monaco, whose patron, Prince Albert II, is a keen supporter of marine conservation causes.

Sesti was given the space at Frieze by Victoria Siddall, Global Director of Frieze Fairs, with the support of the Gallery Climate Coalition, amid rising concern in the art world about the carbon footprint of the sector.

The line-up of artists participating in CARBON is striking. Emin has created a line drawing of a woman reclining from the Air-Ink medium; Eno has contributed a work showing an ink footprint on (recycled) paper simply entitled Carbon Footprint.

Shezad Dawood, Terrarium Study, Air-Ink on recycled A2 Paper

Shezad Dawood’s work depicts an underwater seascape replete with a crab and seaweed (or polythene tendrils, depending on how you view it). The multi-media artist comments: “Keeping the process carbon neutral, from the paper to the Air-Ink, is a nice touch, but the Air-Ink is actually wonderful to draw with, so there were no compromises there.” For Dawood, the CARBON project builds on a pre-existing passion. “For my works The Terrarium and Leviathan, I have spent years working with scientists, oceanographers and environmentalists imagining the future. What will different marine and coastal regions look like in 30, or 300, years from now?”

Read more: Philanthropist Helga Piaget on educating the next generation

For contributing artist, Sue Webster, CARBON offers an opportunity for retrospection. “Tim [Noble] and I have always inadvertently made environmentally friendly art, dating back to being penniless art students in Nottingham in the late 1980s and early 1990s. We simply couldn’t afford to waste our precious student grants on buying sheets of metal or lumps of granite with which to carve our future in art, so we turned to emptying out the skip in the sculpture park in order to pave our way through the art of assemblage from trash. It was never meant to be a political statement: it was simply a means to an end, to survival. It’s funny how things have turned out. It’s about time artists unify and invest in solutions to the art industry’s carbon emissions.”

Conrad Shawcross. Air-Ink on recycled A2 Paper

Conrad Shawcross has created an abstract, particle-like work. He tells LUX, “As we do not have all the answers, I celebrate all endeavours to think outside the box, raise awareness, and promote change. Platform Earth represents a fresh and bold solution to accelerating environmental understanding, protecting ocean habitats and a novel way for the art world to try to reduce its negative environmental impact, while also crucially supporting and sustaining artistic expression.

Read more: Sophie Neuendorf on the legacy of Valmont’s Didier Guillon

“For well over a decade now, my joy in making has been increasingly tarnished by an anxiety at the environmental consequences of my expression and process. For years I have been trying to unbind the direct link between my artistic production from my carbon footprint. Decarbonising my supply chain has not been easy. While there are exciting solutions on the horizon, such as green hydrogen steel mills, we are not there yet.”

Charlotte Colbert. Air-Ink on recycled A3 Paper

Charlotte Colbert’s surreal creation blurs the lines between man and marine creature. “All our senses can witness our hurtling towards climate catastrophe,” she says. “It feels overwhelming, so when organisations come with clear aims and goals on how to delay or even avert it one can only leap behind it with full faith and commitment.” Philip Colbert, who has recreated his signature lobster seemingly drowning in a rising ocean, adds, “It seems about time that an art movement focused head on the environmental challenge of our time. Great art has always attempted to tackle the existential challenges for humanity and Platform Earth perfectly addresses our biggest challenge today. If artists can’t inspire then they can no longer dream.”

With the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, taking place in a few weeks, the show could not be better timed. As Sesti says, “To have Frieze place us essentially in their blue-chip section is a real barometer of how the art world is changing – or potentially hasn’t changed yet. It does not have many solutions at the moment, in terms of contributing to the environment and carbon capture.” A zero carbon art world may be a long way off, but CARBON is at least playing a small part in raising awareness – and addressing the issue.

Find out more: platformearth.org

Follow Platform Earth on Instagram: @platformearthuk

Helga Piaget, Founder of Passion Sea

Helga Piaget is the founder of the Monaco-based non-profit organisation Passion Sea, which reaches out to schools around the world with educational and artistic initiatives around ocean conservation.  Here, Piaget speaks to LUX about pushing ocean conservation to the top of the youth agenda and the role of art

If passion could save the oceans, Helga Piaget would have done the job already. An engaging mix of fire and focus, she is sitting with LUX at the Yacht Club de Monaco, speaking about her programme to bring awareness of ocean issues to the younger generation through her art programmes at her non-profit organisation Passion Sea. Born in Germany and based in Monaco, Piaget spends much of her time engaging with schools to try to create a new generation who understand the issues facing the oceans, and the routes to resolution.

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Our location is not a coincidence: Monaco’s Prince Albert is one of the most significant high-profile supporters of ocean causes, something in the DNA of the principality with the celebrated Oceanographic Museum and Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, as well as being the President of the Yacht Club itself.

LUX: Passion Sea strives to engage young children in the conservation debate. Why?
Helga Piaget: Education is huge. Children are the future – the next adults, and the next leaders. So, if you educate them in the right way, they might be able to make a change. I specialise with younger children because they are sponges. They educate others: when they play, they ask the other kids, ‘Why did you throw that [litter] on the ground?’ Then, they often go home and realise how much trash and plastic is in their households, and the parents learn, too. I think they know even more than us sometimes.

Passion Sea runs educational programs across the globe

LUX: Explain the role of art in Passion Sea’s efforts.
Helga Piaget: We educate through art, because when children paint something, or they have to do poetry, it stays in their brain. You have to get it anchored in their brain, and [the best way to do] that is through art. It makes them happy, too, learning in a happy way. We did a book with artworks from around the world [in 2017], but for the last two years we have been working on [producing] big flags with schools worldwide, with one from each country. It’s really something to be proud of. I’m waiting to do an exhibition on it, but for the moment it’s not the right time. We already have 25 countries, and beautiful works which are all related to the topic of water. A whole class of children [produces] each work: that’s what’s beautiful. When it’s ready, I often go to the school and have a wonderful event with the mayor and the parents. Normally the schools do other programmes afterwards for conservation in their area. It never stops with us.

Read more: James Chen on providing vision for all

LUX: So, for Passion Sea, creativity is a form of activism?
Helga Piaget: Yes. It’s a snowball system, from one [project] to the other. We find one school, and we meet with the directors and teachers who are willing to participate. Then, through the locals, we find the next connection to the next school. If you start in one good point, you get the connections afterwards, and they start working with you. I am very lucky because I have travelled nearly the whole world with Piaget, so I have good connections in most countries. Now I live in Monaco, which I am a citizen of, so I am very well-connected there. Our prince [Albert of Monaco] does a lot there. It’s very important to have people like him, who have a name, in my book. If you don’t have names, people are less interested. They like heroes, someone they can follow. It makes them listen more.

Piaget with Paris Baloumis, Oceanco’s marketing director

LUX: How difficult has it been to incentivise those in the high net worth community to care about the oceans? Does it ever feel like you like you are fighting a losing battle?
Helga Piaget: Some days it does feel like that. It’s very difficult, but if you have one or two people who understand, it gives you the energy to continue. Two years ago, I was at the Monaco Yacht Show and I was the only one who was speaking about sustainability; everyone [else] was just thinking about money. But the biggest luxury is water, and fresh air. If the water is not clean, who can sell boats? People won’t go to dirty lakes or seas. Everyone has to work together. So I said, ‘The money is in the water.’ Ever since, we have been contacting marinas and boat owners to give them flags for the boats. The flag means they are respecting and protecting the waters. [It’s a way of getting people to] think about how they live, to not to buy too much throwaway material, and to use better products when they clean their boats. A year later there were four, five, six events in construction technology, and everyone was cleaning with these new products. I was delighted. I am really just trying to make people aware. When people see me now, they always ask questions about the topics of nature. They say I am the mother of the oceans!

LUX: What is the nature of philanthropy?
Helga Piaget: Giving the time and energy to make something positive happen. It doesn’t need to be worldwide. Even if it’s small – it can be next door, in the community – it is amazing to see something happen. For me, it’s water and the environment. There is so much being done, but there is still so much to do. Water connects us all, with our body, with our whole planet. It’s important. You must feel where your heart goes – for you need a big passion and you need a lot of time – then think as big as you want.

Find out more: passionsea.com

As with all of our philanthropists, readers who have their own foundations and philanthropic interests are encouraged to reach out to our interview subjects and their institutions directly.

Gordon & MacPhail’s Generations 80-Years-Old from Glenlivet Distillery with decanter and case designed by David Adjaye

On the 3rd February 1940 John Urquhart and his son, George, created a spirit at the Glenlivet Distillery, producing a bespoke Gordon & MacPhail cask, only to be sipped in the following millennium. 80 years later, on 7th October 2021, encased in an oak pavilion designed by David Adjaye, the first bottle is going to auction at Sotheby’s Hong Kong. Candice Tucker reports

Generations 80 Years Old from Glenlivet Distillery, Gordon & MacPhail’s latest release and the oldest single malt Scotch whiskey ever bottled, will go on auction this week along with the number one decanter and casing designed by Sir David Adjaye.

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“Maturing a single malt Scotch over eight decades is an art, similar in many ways to architecture where you are creating something that needs to stand the test of time,” commented Ewen Mackintosh, Managing Director at Gordon & MacPhail. “Both Sir David and Gordon & MacPhail share a commitment to invest in the future. We both see the significance of creating something exceptional; leaving a legacy for future generations.”

Adjaye with the crystal decanter

The British-Ghanian architect’s casing takes the form of a pavilion-like structure made from oak while the crystal decanter was hand-blown at Scotland’s Glencairn Crystal Studio with two cut lenses that magnify the liquid inside and a darkened oak top. “I wanted to create a design that pays tribute to the role oak plays in transforming liquid into an elixir with almost magical properties,” explained Adjaye.

Read more: Milk Honey Bees Founder Ebinehita Iyere on youth work & creativity

The highest bidder at auction will also receive one-of-one signed lithograph of Sir David’s original, concept drawings and a whisky tasting experience for four in London, conducted by Gordon & MacPhail’s Director of Prestige, Stephen Rankin and attended by Sir David Adjaye, in addition to the framed original cask head of Cask 340 which cradled the spirit for eight decades.

For more information, visit: gordonandmacphail.com, sothebys.com

Ebinehita Iyere, founder of charitable youth organisation Milk Honey Bees

Milk Honey Bees celebrates and empowers Black girls and young women by providing a safe space for creative expression and healing. Here, the organisation’s 28-year-old founder Ebinehita Iyere discusses her personal journey, the impact of violence on women and the importance of putting ‘HER’ first

LUX: What’s your earliest memory of wanting to be involved in youth work?
Ebinehita Iyere: Youth work has always been a significant part of my life. My earliest memory of wanting to be involved was at the latchkey after school club I attended in primary school, supported by some amazing youth workers. I naturally started applying those skills to other young people around me.

Follow LUX on Instagram: luxthemagazine

As I got older I really realised the impact that those youth workers had on me. When I left home aged 15, I became a youth worker without even knowing it, providing peer support to other young people like me. I was living in a hostel, so I created a youth work space in my small hostel room and everyone would come to my place. The community always had an impact on me and how I viewed society because people didn’t understand us, but the community did, the youth workers in the community understood us.

LUX: What inspired you to set up Milk Honey Bees?
Ebinehita Iyere: The work I was doing centred around young men. I was raised to believe that most issues in the community predominantly affect young Black men. That’s all I knew. Then, after a very tragic event affected me deeply, I realised that there weren’t any spaces for girls and young women to process the things they had experienced. I thought, when an incident happens in the community, where do the girls go?

Milk Honey Bees started with me, working on myself. My traumas had forced me to grow up far too quickly. So, there was a long process I had to go through to heal my own inner child, and through that important work I saw what I could do with other Black girls.

I had always used reading as an escape and when I read Milk & Honey by Rupi Kaur it was the first book that I felt in a long time really connected with me, so I shared it with a few girls, and essentially, with and for them Milk Honey Bees was created. ​​​​​​​

No one had ever asked these girls what they needed. My whole view on the needs of girls changed. Through creativity and putting ‘HER’ (Healing, Empowerment, Resilience) first, we were able to create a safe space for girls, where they could finally put themselves first, celebrate themselves and be visible.

LUX: How has the organisation evolved since its inception?
Ebinehita Iyere: The organisation has evolved in many ways and continues to do so. Milk Honey Bees began as a project that sat under my full-time job at Juvenis, where I work as a Therapeutic Diversion Practitioner. Through Juvenis we quickly found that the intersection of race and gender is incredibly important, and as a result Milk Honey Bees has evolved into something far bigger than we ever thought it would be – a space for Black and Mixed Girls to be themselves – which means we’ve been able to reach and support more girls than I could have imagined.

We’ve been able to take our time to develop our presence: who we are, what we want to achieve. Black girls are forever evolving so as an organisation we must grow with and for them. We have built and sustained more relationships with the community, schools, parents, and professionals. Some of the girls came to me at 17 now they’re in their early twenties – we’ve all been growing and evolving together.

Read more: The artistic legacy of Valmont’s Didier Guillon

Before the pandemic, we were doing creative projects and most of our work was done face-to-face. So, we set up online spaces where the girls could just chill and be still, feel empowered and vent about things. We also used creativity to stay connected which has led to us being able to reach and impact many more young lives.

Through the pandemic we actually evolved to become more sustainable and more visible, and are emerging with enormous energy and exciting plans for the future, both on and offline which led to being supported by the likes of major brands like Barbie, Sony Music, PR agency DH-PR and Adwoa Aboah’s media platform the ‘Gurls Talk’ podcast.

Milk Honey Bees’ partnership with Barbie aims to instil Black girls with the belief that they can do anything

LUX: Can you tell us more about the concept of H.E.R and how it works in practice?
Ebinehita Iyere: The concept is about putting ‘H.E.R’ first because Black and mixed race girls typically have to wear an armour. They have to mobilise in their families and communities and tend to be denied the time and space for healing themselves.

H.E.R stands for Healing, Empowerment and Resilience. It works in practice through helping the girls learn how to navigate themselves, and in turn, how they can navigate within the sisterhood and the wider world. Essentially, it teaches them to understand whilst being understood.

Healing comes first, and we use creative expression to do much of this work because people need to feel safe and comfortable to express how they feel. We use tools like play, art and healing circles, which allow the girls to be vulnerable in a supportive expressive environment.

Empowerment is about the reclaiming of power. So, taking back the power they felt they’d lost through their negative experiences. We do this by doing things the girls were told they couldn’t do. Black girls are often told they can’t or shouldn’t do certain things, but we empower them to do whatever they want, through raising aspirations through giving them amazing opportunities, such as new educational opportunities, writing for magazines like Grazia, and working with exciting brands like Barbie and Sony Music. It’s important to show the world the power the girls have, so they in turn feel self-empowered.

Resilience is about building on what the girls already naturally possess – and they possess a lot of it – especially with this generation dealing with the pandemic and social media pressures for example. Milk Honey Bees shine a light on various forms of resilience and support our girls to build it within and beyond the community. We also focus heavily on the fact that it’s OK not to be OK, and even just articulating this is a form of resilience. We show ourselves that we don’t always have to be strong or present a certain way. You have put HER first!

LUX: Why is it so important to enable and support creative expression amongst young Black women?
Ebinehita Iyere: As I mentioned before, creative expression is really important for healing. You can feel a sense of both strength and vulnerability through creativity in all its forms. It comes from within – plus, creative potential is limitless.

It’s particularly important for Black girls, who have long been the pioneers of creativity – yet are rarely credited for it. We support them to take ownership of it. Creative expression also determines how your internal feelings are shown and embraced by the world. For Black girls and young women, it’s so important, so that the world doesn’t continue to only see one side of them. Our one-to-one and group sessions often lead into social action projects. Their creativity fuels their voice and visibility.

LUX: Are the girls you work with referred or do they tend to reach out directly?
Ebinehita Iyere: Both! We have a referral system in place through Juvenis, which is our parent charity. We also get referrals from social care, education, mental health partners and sometimes local institutions like the police.

We are really strong on encouraging and facilitating peer-to-peer support, which means that girls can reach out to us directly – they often refer their friends or refer themselves. We even have boys referring girls to Milk Honey Bees! Young men who see the work we do sometimes refer their sisters or girlfriends to us, which is great. We also get a lot of parents coming to us.

LUX: How do you ensure you’re meeting the needs of the individual within the collective?
Ebinehita Iyere: Before anyone is put in a group, our work always begins with a one-to-one session. I always start by asking the girls how they are, who they want to be and what they need, and we co-design an individual support plan.

The next step is the group process. We spend time getting to know each other and ourselves as individuals. Within the group, everyone has a role, or ownership/leadership of something. Everyone is individually celebrated, even within a group.

We create a space free of judgement and rooted in the celebration of Black girlhood. We work to the ethos of: “I am my sister’s keeper, while I’m keeping myself.”

Milk Honey Bees organises creative workshops and projects based on what the girls want to do, see and learn

LUX: You’ve said before that “people need to start seeing Black girls and stop putting them in the same category as women”. Can you explain what you mean by that?
Ebinehita Iyere: A lot of the time Black girls are judged as adults when they are still children. One of the key barriers to the intersecting needs of Black girls and young women being centred by services is the manifestation of adultification bias, where notions of innocence and vulnerability are not afforded to certain children due to racial prejudgement. They are held to greater levels of responsibility due to being treated as though they are more mature, with their rights often being diminished or overlooked.

For example, research has found that adultification contributed to the perceptions amongst those in authoritative positions view Black girls and young women are less innocent, which influences a greater use of force, harsher punishments, and decreased protection and support from services in comparison to white girls. This can have further damaging impacts on how they view themselves, their mental health, as well as negative experiences and interactions with various professionals across so many systems, including education, justice, health, and social care.

If society views Black girls as Black women they are essentially taking away their childhood. There’s an erasure of innocence because of this assumption. We need to allow Black girls to thrive and fail in their girlhood, in order to become the best women they can be.

It’s easy for others to try and write you off and label you as an “angry Black woman” without even knowing who you really are or based on your expressions. I know this stigma first-hand from teachers, to social workers and even previous managers. It affected me deeply. I don’t want any more girls to have to go through that as girls or women.

LUX: As a young founder, what challenges did you face in setting up the organisation and how did you overcome them?
Ebinehita Iyere: Initially, my biggest challenge was me and not being able to process myself. I realised very early on that I had to work on myself first before I could really help anyone else. So, I learned to look after myself while trying to look after others. Now I allow myself to process my feelings and sit with my emotions. They are valid.

You’re allowed to cry, rest, be happy, feel confused – you’re allowed to ask for help. There is amazing strength and power in helping others, but you have to love and take care of yourself first before you can do that for anyone else. I’ve learned how to embrace my vulnerability and turn it into great strength, by speaking up for myself when it matters and allowing myself to be vulnerable with others, knowing it’s more than OK.

Your experiences do not define you; they will only allow you to learn, grow and become the best version of yourself for you. My experiences have not allowed me to grow personally and professionally.

Read more: Juanita Ingram on empowering women in the workplace

Outside of my personal life, my transition to a founder was as a result of most of my work being with boys in the community, but I started to realise that there was a real lack of understanding when it came to creating safe spaces for Black girls to express themselves in the community after incidents happened, or even spaces that celebrated Black girl joy. Creating safe spaces for girls is something I assumed people would understand, but they didn’t. People couldn’t understand what I was doing.

Being supported by my passion, family and a core group of people in the youth sector who understood my vision (Jenni Steele, Winston Goode and Whitney Iles), and receiving funding and recognition through awards and press also helped my journey to ensure that no matter the challenge I could overcome it.

LUX: How do you think education systems can better support young people? Are there any skills, for example, which you think schools should be teaching?
Ebinehita Iyere: I think education systems can provide better support by allowing young people to be creative. Life, career, and success – none of these are linear. Thinking creatively helps young people navigate these things.

I also think schools should be teaching more life skills – processing emotions, managing money, and mindfulness for example – to prepare young people for the highs and lows of the working world.
Schools should have a four-day teaching week with one day set aside for play, mental health, life skills, pastoral care etc – for both staff and students – plus engaging with families. Showing that it’s OK for them to express themselves because without expression you can’t function. We saw it in the pandemic – imagine if adults had had the personal tools to have been able to support kids more during the pandemic?

LUX: What impact does the exclusion of women from conversations around violence have on individuals and communities?
Ebinehita Iyere: For every experience of violence whether it’s structural violence, domestic violence or youth violence, there’s always a woman on the end of it – whether that’s on the side of the perpetrator or victim. Violence is not just the act itself. It’s the aftermath. Instead of grieving and healing, girls have to wear this armour and protect boys and men. In other words, girls are spending more time mobilising for others than healing themselves.

Excluding women from these conversations leads to overwhelming feelings of invisibility, not feeling like our voices are heard, and erasure from our experiences. We are more than just a hashtag, we should not only be visible when being mourned but also while living. We should not be excluded from conversations about our safety in fact we should be safe.

Even when we are included in these conversations we aren’t leading them. The impact is really bad. Giving the women of tomorrow the skills, language and tools to be able to have these conversations in their spaces and beyond is essential in my opinion.

Iyere at the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman of the Year Awards 2021 in London. Photo by David M. Benett/Getty Images for Veuve Clicquot

LUX: What upcoming projects are you looking forward to?
Ebinehita Iyere: We have so much coming up for us and essentially everything is led and developed by the girls. We are developing a new schools based project for teen girls and have just launched our project with Barbie for 5-10 year olds.

We are super excited for the launch of Creative Connection, our a brand-new project in partnership with Sony Music UK. I’m really looking forward to this because it’s an incredible chance for young women to navigate the industry they want to be in – and an amazing chance for the inspirational businesses and creatives they engage with to learn from the girls.

Creative Connection is a 8-week mentoring project purposed with empowering Black/Mixed Black young women, who have an interest in getting into the music and wider creative industry, through a series of introductory workshops and sessions. In collaboration with Sony Music UK, Milk Honey Bees have curated a unique curriculum supporting a selected group of 10 Black/Mixed Black female creatives aged 18-23, by offering them creative mentoring and work placements. Being able to fuse creativity, work and wellbeing together to all work hand in hand is really exciting, and the ten young women who are selected will be the first of their kind.

LUX: And finally, you were recently nominated for the Veuve Clicquot Bold Future award. What does that mean to you personally and to your organisation?
Ebinehita Iyere: It was so amazing to be recognised by Veuve Clicquot, mainly because it’s so rare to see that kind of visibility for people like me. Even though I didn’t win the actual award, I am still a winner!

My name, Ebinehita, means ‘my destiny’. My journey fluctuated from not feeling like I had a destiny to fulfilling my density. I’ve worked so hard to create one for myself through hard work and self love, so to be recognised by such a prestigious brand made me so proud. For every woman who fought to get where you are: continue to be bold because you are the future.

Find out more: milkhoneybees.co.uk
Follow Ebineita Iyere on Instagram: @ebinehitaiyere_

Didier Guillon with his son Maxence who will take over leadership of Fondation Valmont in 2022

artnet’s Vice President Sophie Neuendorf speaks with the founder of the Valmont group and one of the most important philanthropists and collectors in the art world: Didier Guillon

Over the years, French-Swiss entrepreneur and philanthropist Didier Guillon has built a cosmetics imperium, arts foundation, and expansive collection. The Valmont group has become a great family success story thanks to not only his creative genius and passion for art, but also in large part to his wife Sophie who’s able to anticipate women’s desires and needs by combining luxurious ingredients and advanced technologies in Valmont’s high-end range of cosmetics.

Follow LUX on Instagram: luxthemagazine

Ahead of a major new thematic exhibition opening at Palazzo Bonvicini – a historic palace which is also home to Fondation Valmont in Venice – which will bring together artists Isao, Stephanie Blake and Silvano Rubino with the art students of Publicolor (a New York-based non-profit organisation that helps marginalised youth reintegrate into society through the use of art as an expressive therapy), Guillon discusses family business, his philanthropic projects and the value of generosity.

Sophie Neuendorf: What’s it like working alongside your wife?
Didier Guillon: It’s a truly inspiring peer-to-peer relationship. There’s no domination of one to the other. Sometimes, we have differences of opinion, but that usually leads to an even better solution. She’s a new Helena Rubinstein! Although I’m more involved in the collection and Fondation, she’s always interested in my passions and projects.

I’m also excited to reveal that we will open a Maison Valmont in Madrid very soon, which combines both my passion for fine art and her work ethic. We’ll have a retail space as well as a secret space for our VIP clients where we will exhibit fine art. It’s like showing a new world to our clients, which is very important for us.

Sophie Neuendorf: Are your children keen to follow your footsteps in terms of collecting and philanthropy?
Didier Guillon: I’m certain that they will. They understand the value of generosity and of philanthropy as I’ve instilled it in them for many years.

Read more: Umberta Beretta on fund-raising for the arts

Sophie Neuendorf: There are many family businesses within the art world, where savoir-faire is passed from one generation to the next. Are you working closely with your children to ensure the transfer of the foundation into the future?
Didier Guillon: We’re really at the beginning of the process. My son will lead Fondation Valmont starting in 2022. He will be primarily responsible for discovering emerging artists for an exhibition we’re launching in Venice for the 2024 Biennale. The theme will be the concept of travel. For my son, it’s a true immersion into the art world.

In terms of the business, it will take much longer to decide if and when my children will join the Valmont Group. Perhaps, they would like to have some other experiences first, which to be honest, I believe is in their best interest. However, we all have to protect the concept of heritage, in terms of art but also of family businesses and values. It’s very important to transmit one’s values to the next generation. For me, that means being known for one’s generosity in all its different facets! Not for being rich, for example. I would be horrified to appear on any “rich lists”!

Villa Valentina on the Greek island of Hydra, where Fondation Valmont hosts artist residencies

Sophie Neuendorf: How do you choose the artists you work with?
Didier Guillon: The absolute objective is to have a deep connection with the artists. For example, I offer our artists the opportunity to travel to Hydra for a four-day workshop and artist residency. It’s a feeling of generosity in terms of spirit and knowledge. It’s important to me that our artists know and embrace the fact that charity is a big part of our ethos and will be part of any exhibition.

I work closely with my son in the decision making process. Neither of us wants to buy work for speculative purposes. We buy for passion and to support the artists. That’s also why we created the “DM” art fund: to raise money to support young artists, which is especially important now, in the wake of the pandemic.

Sophie Neuendorf: What would you like your legacy to be?
Didier Guillon: The notion of generosity in thought and deed. It’s very important to me and it’s what I would like to transmit to the next generation.

Read more: Gaggenau’s Jörg Neuner on embodying the traditional avant-garde

Sophie Neuendorf: If you could have dinner with any three artists, living or dead, who would you choose?
Didier Guillon: Francis Bacon because he was the first artist I saw with my father at a big solo show in Paris. Sol LeWitt because he’s the opposite. Cecily Brown because she has a funny eroticism in her paintings. For me, the way she paints is absolutely fantastic. She’s the new Gerhard Richter.

Sophie Neuendorf: You recently opened a beautiful space in Venice. Why Venice?
Didier Guillon: Venice is an international destination where the art takes possession of the city. Also, it’s a sustainable city because you don’t have cars, which is the same as Hydra, for example, where there are only donkeys. The city also represents the fragility of humanity, seeing as its constructed on poles.

We opened the space few years ago as a place to invite some of our many valued clients and friends. We truly enjoy showing them the beauty – known and secret – of Venice, as well as introducing them to our fragrances. I really want to welcome our guests into the Valmont world.

The grand interiors of Palazzo Bonvicini in Venice

Sophie Neuendorf: What is luxury for you?
Didier Guillon: Luxury, for me, is having the time and money to dedicate, imagine, and create things for those that are disadvantaged. I want to leave a better world for our children and grandchildren. Charity should be a global endeavour. We all have to do our part.

Sophie Neuendorf: The pandemic has been tough for the art world. How did you experience it?
Didier Guillon: We were very fortunate to be together as a family during those few months of lockdown. For me, it was occasion to develop my own artistic creations, all of which were sold to support our art fund.

Sophie Neuendorf: Do you think ESG is important for the art world? What, if anything, are you doing in those terms?
Didier Guillon: Living and creating sustainably is very important. We only use glass for our products, for example. To be honest, it’s a very big challenge to combat climate change. We feel it’s very important to do our part for the environment, but we work more closely in helping disadvantaged children because children are our future.

Find out more: lamaisonvalmont.com

Follow Sophie Neuendorf on Instagram: @sophieneuendorf

Jörg Neuner, Head of Gaggenau’s brand centre in Lipsheim, France

Jörg Neuner, Head of the Gaggenau Brand Centre, speaks to LUX about heritage, handwork, and embracing a hybrid design philosophy

Seamlessly absorbing technological advancements into its DNA, the Gaggenau design philosophy is second to none. The secret? “Traditional handwork with the lightest of mechanical touches,” says Jörg Neuner, Head of the Gaggenau Brand Centre.

LUX travelled to Lipsheim in north-eastern France to speak all things design with Neuner, and find out how – from champagne-supplemented culinary workshops to getting down and dirty in the forging room – the centre offers visitors a fully immersive expression of the Gaggenau brand.

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LUX: How has the Gaggenau Brand Centre evolved since its opening in 2012?
Jörg Neuner: When we originally opened the Brand Centre, it was based just on design. Our first ambition for the space was for our internal product training, so it was used primarily for prototypes and new products. When there were guests here, like trainers and dealers, it also gave them the chance to visit the factory. That’s the interesting thing, to look behind the scenes and see how it’s all done – the handwork, the materials, and so on. So, that’s what we’ve been doing here since 2012. In 2019, after seven years of operation here, we had 10,000 visitors!

The Gaggenau Brand Centre, featuring a showroom, space for training courses and working kitchen, is located next to the brand’s historic factory

LUX: What makes the Lipsheim location different to other Gaggenau showrooms globally?
Jörg Neuner: We have showrooms like the one here in countries all around the world, and they’re all in the same style. I think what draws people to Lipsheim is the factory, being in the place where everything happens. Normally, we have all the guests here, aprons on, sleeves up, and in the kitchen; you can go and see inside the factory, too. That’s why people come. It’s a very dense experience of the brand, probably the most dense that you can have. Everything we do here is related to Gaggenau: its history, its characteristics, the products.

LUX: What does a typical visitor to the centre look like?
Jörg Neuner: Most of the groups that come here are dealers or retailers. A particularly important group is the product developers, the people building high-rise buildings completely equipped with Gaggenau. They travel throughout Europe to visit all the suppliers they have in their buildings, and they come here to see how it’s done, to understand the brand. Even if they are old-timers with Gaggenau, and have a strong knowledge of the brand, they always say how good it is to come and see how we do it – to see that, still, the products are unique. Now, too, because we have this next to the factory, we can really provide an event.

Visitors to the centre can also tour the factory to gain an insight into how the brand’s products are made

LUX: What does the centre have in store for its private clients?
Jörg Neuner: For the moment, the main thing for end consumers is our cooking classes. We have star chef here, from the region, who has a long-time connection with Gaggenau. He does a cooking course here every month, so you can come here, if you pay a certain fee, to cook lunch with him with a glass of champagne. It’s a big dream of ours, to accommodate more private clients in the future.

LUX: One of the most fascinating elements of the centre is the heritage pieces. Is that something you’re interested in, showing more of the brand’s heritage?
Jörg Neuner: Sure. We have a little interactive forging museum with some of our old appliances in it. I always see guests with big smiles on their faces when they take the hammer and make a piece of really authentic heritage using their own hands, which they get to take home with them. This is how we communicate our history: we try to put guests in touch with it, to make it as tangible as possible.

Read more: Vitalie Taittinger on family business and philanthropy

LUX: Which aspect of the manufacturing process is most surprising to visitors?
Jörg Neuner: I think the most fascinating thing is that with every process, there are people involved. There is still so much handwork and complexity involved, which we try to show to visitors. We have only one process that is automatised, which cuts flat sheet metal and can run around the clock, but in all other processes we have people. It’s really traditional handwork too: we don’t cut any corners. The best example is the 90cm oven. The door takes ninety minutes to assemble, and it’s one person, putting together 515 pieces, 37 metres of cable, step by step, all alone. 90 centimetres, 90 minutes: one centimetre a minute. It’s quite a huge depth of production. That’s really special, and it’s important for the dealers when they come to see it here.

Traditional craftsmanship is at the heart of Gaggeanu’s manufacturing processes

LUX: Technology has not replaced the human element of Gaggenau’s manufacturing process, but has it influenced the design evolution of products over the years?
Jörg Neuner: Our philosophy for our products is traditional avant-garde. We respect where we have come from – how people have cooked, what they know, what traditions there are – and, when it makes sense, we incorporate technology. For example, all the tapping indicators on the induction and ceramic cooktops have knobs. We have some [appliances with] touchscreens as well, for flexibility, so that you can do further programming, but you have full control at the manual level. Modular products have also come up over the course of the last few decades. With Gaggenau it started by developing our ovens, making the panels smaller, giving the cavity more space; and eventually we put the oven not below the cooktop but into the wall. We were the first ones to do that. Then, we realised, with this new development, that you could combine it with the steamer, or the coffee machine, and that brought up new forms again. It all contributes to a certain story about the ergonomics of cooking; it’s not just an oven without a panel. So that shows how, on the one side, things develop, and we get a new avant-garde style, but on the other side it still has the things which still make sense. That’s the traditional avant-garde.

LUX: Have any Gaggenau designs remained untouched by time or technology?
Jörg Neuner: We now have two oven series, the 200 and the 400, while the 300 stays as an icon. We did our first attempt to update that one, and I was very happy, and it’s stayed the same ever since. To me, that’s amazing: that you can have an appliance for thirty years in the catalogue without any major change in the design or technology. Nobody else has that. We have a successor, but while it’s technically based on our new oven platform, with the same functions and features, the outline is the same. It has the same face. For me, that’s the Gaggenau face.

Find out more: gaggenau.com

Vitalie Taittinger is president of the Taittinger champagne house. Photograph by Luc Valigny

Vitalie Taittinger took over her family’s champagne house in 2020. As well as controlling the creation of one of the world’s most celebrated drinks brands, she is actively involved in supporting emerging artists in France and elsewhere. She chats to Samantha Welsh over a tasting of some of Taittinger’s most interesting cuvées about art, luxury and, of course, her champagnes

LUX: You are closely involved with supporting emerging artists through the Fond Regional d’Art Contemporain (Frac) in Reims.
Vitalie Taittinger: Five years ago my father asked me if I could be the new president of Frac Champagne Ardenne. In the beginning I did not 100% agree because I have a lot of work at Taittinger. Six months afterwards, he was saying “everyone is so happy you have become president of the Frac Champagne Ardenne…” The president is in charge of all the political relationships, the one who challenges the vision.

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It’s very interesting because I love this project and to see the evolution of a project that was created forty years ago [by Jack Lang, the swashbuckling Minister of Culture under President Francois Mitterrand]. It’s a lot of work and it’s also very exciting because it’s very political: we are dealing with the minister and we are trying to make things happen in a good way, to protect the Frac and to push them to evolve. Art is one of the biggest motors in society because it is just full of inspiration coming from every culture, from every mix of cultures, so I think for the young generations this is crucial. I should note there is no link between the Frac and Taittinger except for the fact that I’m working every day and on both sides.

LUX: When you took over last year, did you have a grand plan or a strategy to change anything?
Vitalie Taittinger: I think that when you are in this kind of family company, changing would be a renouncement, so the aim is not to change; the aim is to go further into every detail of the elaboration of this champagne. I think that today, with the challenge of global warming and climate change, we always have to improve our way, to be very careful with the environment and to always think about how we can produce this quality of grapes which can also bring after the additional quality to the champagne.

Image by David Picchiottino

LUX: The producer of one of the world’s most expensive wines became quite heated when we asked him if his wine was a luxury good: he said it certainly was not. Are you producing a luxury good? Is champagne a luxury good or are you producing an agricultural product?
Vitalie Taittinger: This is a luxury good, definitely. And it doesn’t mean that it’s not a cultural brand, but I think for me this is a luxury good. It depends on what you understand luxury to mean, but for me this is definitely the highest level of luxury. Also, the fact that we have so many years of experience and these are in the memories of the workers, we have everything which makes this experience different, exceptional and inimitable. To work for more than ten years on a project which we drink in one second, is crazy. The only thing you will keep with you is the memory of the instant.

Read more: Classic Ferraris and Lamborghinis galore at Salon Privé

LUX: Would you ever consider going back into the general luxury goods world, like your family did before? [Previously, Taittinger owned luxury hotels until the company was bought out by Starwood Capital in 2005; Taittinger family members purchased the champagne house back again in 2006].
Vitalie Taittinger: Maybe one day. It was a challenge when my father bought back the company and every day since 2006, we have put all of our passion and time into the company. Today, we are happy that we have done everything with passion, heart and youth. We are not financially driven; this is really a company which pays more attention and credit to humans than finance. Both are important; it’s relative but when we are thinking about our development our thinking is more irrational than rational.

Taittinger walking through her family estate’s vineyards. Image by David Picchiotino

LUX: Why are the French so good at luxury?
Vitalie Taittinger: We are not the only ones! I don’t know… I think we are structured, but what makes France different, I think, is the country’s relationship to the time; the history, the heritage; and the fact that when you are thinking about generations, you are not focusing on the ego; it is less about “I” and more about “how can I continue this history?” I find this interesting because you keep all the knowledge and the experience of the people that were here before; you are just reinforcing history.

It doesn’t prevent yourself from being who you are and to bring what you want to bring, but this knowledge is a kind of religion. People in companies like Taittinger are really proud of the knowledge they have in their hands. So, I think maybe this is why, but I don’t have the perfect answer.

The Tasting

Comments by Vitalie Taittinger

Taittinger Prelude Grand Cru

This is 50% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Noir, all Grand Cru. This is our vision of Grand Cru, and you have a wine which is sculpted. You always have this energy, this freshness which you can find in the Chardonnay; light, delicate thin bubbles. It is pushed by the structure of the Pinot Noir; the two grapes are perfectly integrated; they are one. I think that all our wine is precise, super clean and in a way they are also speaking to the art which is for us very important. It has to be a pleasure!

Taittinger Les Folies de la Marquetiere

This is a cuvée which talks about the origins of the house, everything started in a little castle close to Epernay. My great grandfather was there during the war, and many years after, his brother-in-law called him and told him there is a castle for sale, one of the only ones to be surrounded by vineyards, and he went to the visit the castle, and this cuvée was first elaborated with the grapes around the castle. The idea with history and identity was to create a cuvée which looks like this castle, which gives the emotions that similar to when we give a beautiful dinner in this castle, from the eighteenth century.

It is a very small but beautiful castle so you have a warm, cosy feeling, you have a feeling of culture. The Folies is a homage to great moments, gastronomy and beauty; you have the richness, something which is warm, which is larger and at the same time, you find this minerality of the Chardonnay and the style of the house.

Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2008

This is a wine we do not do every year. It was created in the 1950s to pay homage to Thibault IV who is our ambassador of the house. For us, he represents the adventurous spirit, the poetry (he was a poet), and also the very smooth relationship between men and women, so in this character we find something which is very faithful and inspiring to us.

But there is a limit – we will never be able to produce a lot. We only take the grapes of the five villages in the Côte des Blancs, and with that we only use the first pressed juice, to have the purest juice, to be able to make it age in the long term.

This is a wine we will release ten years after we make it, and it’s also a wine you keep in your own cellars. We take only the best grapes from the Côte des Blancs, afterwards there is a little elaboration process which is 5% of the juices come from Chouilly (it is more bodied), just to have this precious taste. And what is special about the Comtes de Champagne is that when you are opening your bottle, when you are having your first sip, you have the first impression that the wine is a long one, and it has more than ten years, and as you keep it, it will become more warm; minute after minute you will be be able to smell all the aromas, they are totally fantastic. This is the life of the wine!

Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé 2007

2007 was a beautiful year, strangely so: it was not a conventional one. In the grapes there was some tension, which was for us a very good sign because at the end you get a perfect wedding between both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and you get something which is both structure and harmony. You have something which is very noble and very elegant. It has the red fruits, but it’s also very deep and it also has freshness.

Find out more: taittinger.com

von Bartha’s flagship gallery behind a gas station in Basel. Photo by Ben Koechlin.

Stefan von Bartha. Photo by Simon Schwyzer

Swiss gallery von Bartha recently announced the opening of a new space in Copenhagen, becoming the first international gallery to lay down roots in the city. Here, LUX speaks to Stefan von Bartha, the gallery’s director, about von Bartha’s future, the impacts of the pandemic and the return of Art Basel

1. The Copenhagen gallery will be von Bartha’s first location outside of Switzerland. Why now?

One of the more positive aspects of the pandemic was the fact that we had the time to really think about and discuss the future of the gallery in depth. It became very clear that our physical gallery space was the core part of our operation that we can always rely on. During that time, when travelling and art fairs were not an option, it was the only place where we were able to show art and meet with our collectors.

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While we hope that we never find ourselves in this situation again, we have been fortunate in that we have been able to build a closer and more personal connection with our collectors which is very valuable. Copenhagen has always been one of my favourite cities and we are excited to be the first international gallery to open a space there. Being able to open and connect with new audiences and collectors is very much in line with the future direction of the gallery.

2.  Do you think things are shifting in terms of the city’s presence in the global art world?

A city like Copenhagen fits the profile of von Bartha with our primary space being in Basel and from my perspective, I think the more typical ‘gallery centric’ cities are facing more and more issues. I do believe that Copenhagen’s art scene will see a lot of growth over the next few years.

3. Why do you think there has been a recent increase in galleries opening spaces in unusual settings? Your Copenhagen gallery, for example, will be located in a former lighthouse.

I think there is a sense of fatigue with the more ‘typical’ gallery spaces. When we opened our new headquarters in Basel behind the gas station, everyone loved the concept, and we received a lot of positive feedback. So, a lighthouse makes total sense for us!

Record, 1994 by Barry Flanagan will on be display at von Bartha’s booth at Art Basel. Courtesy von Bartha and the artist. Photo by Andreas Zimmermann

4. Aside from digital exhibitions, how else did the restrictions of the pandemic alter the gallery’s structures?

I think the biggest change has been increased personal contact our collectors. Everyone had access to time, which is rare these days! We were able to speak with our artists and collectors at length and without the sense of being rushed.

Read more: Culture & Cuisine at La Fiermontina, Puglia, Italy

5. Are there any artists or art world developments that are particularly exciting you at the moment?

Opening a new gallery space in Copenhagen is exciting enough for me!

6. What can we expect from von Bartha’s presentation at this year’s edition of Art Basel?

In general, I think we can expect one of the strongest and most exciting Art Basel fairs ever. All galleries will bring their best works as it is the first major fair to take place in two years. von Bartha will present a really exciting mix of leading contemporary artists in the gallery’s programme including Marina Adams, Imi Knoebel, Superflex, and Claudia Wieser alongside a selection of work by artists including Barry Flanagan, Jean Arp and Sophie Taeuber-Arp, encouraging a thought-provoking discourse between contemporary and historical. The presentation will be complemented by a strong programme across the city including our collaboration on the opening of Imi Bar, a new permanent bar at the Volkshaus Basel Hotel, featuring artwork by German artist Imi Knoebel and at our flagship Basel space, we will be showing two exhibitions by Chilean-Swiss artist Francisco Sierra and Swiss artist Beat Zoderer (on view until 23 October 2021).

Find out more: vonbartha.com

Bellini’s Pietà at the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, which Beretta helped restore

The role of philanthropy has never been more urgent, and is reflected in our ongoing online series. Here, Umberta Beretta outlines her work around women’s rights and art for the many

Beretta was born into a family of prominent industrialists in northern Italy and is married to Franco Beretta, who leads the famed gunmakers. For the past two decades she has been active in fund-raising for numerous non-profit organisations and foundations with a focus on art, including her work for the Italian pavilion at the 2017 Venice Biennale and the Museo Poldi Pezzoli in Milan; medical charities, including cancer research through the Fondazione Beretta, of which she is a board member, and the Essere Bambino foundation; and on social causes such as campaigning against violence against women. The Beretta family’s involvement in art is notable also for Christo’s 2016 project The Floating Piers, which connected the shore of Lake Iseo with the island of San Paolo, owned by the Berettas, with fabric-covered walkways.

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LUX: Where did your interest in philanthropy in the arts come from?
Umberta Beretta: I have always had an interest in the arts. My father Giorgio Gnutti often took me to museums or when visiting artists’ studios. My grandmother (on my mother’s side) pushed me to do volunteer work. Art is my passion and the time I dedicate to less fortunate people or causes is my way of giving back.

Umberta Beretta photographed by Lady Tarin

LUX: Which art projects are exciting you?
Umberta Beretta: The past year has been very complicated and frustrating, but I very much look forward to the Venice Biennale [due to take place 23 April to 27 November 2022] curated by Cecilia Alemani. I admire women who do well in the arts. My hometown of Brescia and Bergamo will be Italian Capital of Culture in 2023, so we are planning a series of cultural activities and that’s quite exciting.

LUX: How important are private and philanthropic support for the arts?
Umberta Beretta: They’re both crucial. In Italy this still has yet to be fully understood. Individuals should be given more tax incentives [to donate]. But it is in our culture to promote beauty so against all odds I think Italy will always be a motor for the arts.

Beretta with the Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama

LUX: How has the pandemic affected the arts in Italy?
Umberta Beretta: Tourists will always come to visit our museums. What concerns me most is the impact the pandemic will have on young, lesser-known artists, whose opportunities have frozen. And the same can be said for emerging fashion designers.

Read more: Meet the new generation of artisanal producers

LUX: What else can be done to support women’s rights?
Umberta Beretta: We can start by educating our children. I try with my son every day. All boys should be taught to respect women and all girls should be taught to demand respect. Women have the right to express themselves freely like men. In the art world, for example, women should be free to express their views on sexuality without scaring the public away. In everyday life they should be able to be mothers and have a career at the same time.

Beretta with the artist Christo in his New York studio

LUX: What project has pleased you most?
Umberta Beretta: Definitely Christo’s Floating Piers. Winning the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award in 2015 for Italy. Restoring some of the masterpieces of the Museo Poldi Pezzoli through the Restoration Club… I could go on.

For more information, visit: umbertagnuttiberetta.com

This article was originally published in the Summer 2021 Issue.