Rufus Willis brings a contemporary interpretation to the traditional designs used to decorate porcelain English tea and coffee sets. In place of idyllic landscapes, Willis portrays modern urban reality and the blight caused by pollution, traffic and wars.
Rufus Willis is a young architect and designer who resides in London. His design for illy was unanimously chosen by jury from among proposals by artists studying at the Pistoletto Foundation in Biella, Italy.
Like the Kounellis set, the Rufus Willis (born in Manchester in 1978) set was released in 2004, but the bottom says 2005!
Established by Michelangelo Pistoletto, UNIDEE is a laboratory where different artistic forms like music, visual art, theatre, literature, dance, photography, design and fashion integrate with humanities, scientific and social disciplines like sociology, economics, philosophy and politics.
Selected artists have the opportunity of introducing their creative work in the interactive and social context of Cittadellarte, a remarkable architectural example of industrial archaeology. The resident artists live and work in the buildings attending courses, workshops, public meetings and exhibitions, sharing the experience of living within a collective community.
As you might know, every year illy produces several series of illy collection cups in collaboration with some well known artists, but also with some emerging ones. In 2003, for the fourth time, the company has invited the UNIDEE residents at Cittadellarte to present their designs The aim is to vehicle a socially meaningful message by means of a design product.