Artcyling: Willie Cole for Tod’s

Willie in Italia

ARTCYCLING is the creative project based on the same values as Tod’s Mosaic and is brought to life through the design objects of the American artist Willie Cole. In collaboration with Tod’s craftsmen, Willie Cole, on occasion of the upcoming Salone del Mobile 2021, has created a series of sculptures using production leftovers and transforming them into prime materials. Handcrafting is a creative and truly noble art, which inspires and generates new life.

Throughout September, the Tod’s boutique in Milan’s Via Montenapoleone will carry the Mosaic bag line made from recovering unused materials and using traditional patchwork techniques. The collection comprises shopping totes and pouches and a selection of home accessories, all made using the same upcycling process.

To mark the occasion, the flagship is staging the installation “Artcycling” by American artist Willie Cole. Known for creating three-dimensional art pieces from existing materials, Cole has created unique sculptures made from recycled Tod’s leather and collaborating with the Italian luxury firm’s artisans, using leathers, semifinished products and salvaged pieces from different production processes as raw materials for artistic invention, celebrating manual work and craftsmanship.

Tod’s chairman and chief executive officer Diego Della Valle praised Cole’s “exceptional sense” of the raw materials, and how his sculptures reflect “the philosophy of handcraft” and quality, respecting sustainability and recycling.“To see Willie Cole working in our company has given us great satisfaction because the promotion of art is very important for our brand. With this project we launch an important message of respect of things, nature and all people and this is the first of many partnerships that we will form and that will be managed by our academy.”

“Touring the studio and factory with Tod’s artisans highlighted the true made by hand nature of the brand’s shoes and accessories,” said Cole. “Everything from hand-shaved wooden shoe forms, to stitching and quality testing was a demonstration of their unique maker culture. Working with Tod’s artisan team for 10 days allowed me to create multiple custom art pieces with upcycled materials. It was the experience of a lifetime.”

After the unveiling in Milan, the sculptures will travel to Paris, London, New York and Miami.

– WWD

See the full collaboration here.

The Future of Art: Willie Cole, a contemporary artist creating unique work and positive change.

In support of his 2021 exhibition with Hauser & Wirth Southampton, Willie sat down with Art City Review for an in-depth conversation about his innovative and iconic decades-long career.

Domestic-Shield-XIX.jpg

Willie Cole has been ­­­making innovative work with unique iconography for over half a century, but talking to him, he sounds like a friendly, smart colleague or neighbor next store. Perhaps that’s why his work is so accessible and inspirational.

The artist, who lives in Mine Hill, NJ, has been the subject of shows at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (1998), Bronx Museum of the Arts (2001), and Miami Art Museum (2001). These institutions, some of the biggest in the world, along with private collectors from New York to Los Angeles, see something provocative in his work.

When Art Review City caught up with him, the artist invited us to a visit his home studio where he was finishing the works for the collective exhibition “There’s There There,” curated by renowned American artist Rashid Johnson at blue-chip gallery Hauser and Wirth’s Southampton location. This show invites visitors to reflect upon the pleasures and complex histories of the shapes, movements, and objects that permeate the everyday, and Cole’s ironing board works are clearly the stars of the show.

Click here to read the entire piece.