“The Art of the Treasure Hunt” is a journey through Chianti in search of its hidden gems. A result of collaboration between passionate art and wine lovers, the second edition of the project brings together a wide range of artworks, from photography, through sculpture to film and site-specific interventions. International artists feature their works in the finest wineries of the region, in response to the unique character of historical venues. The treasure hunt is an experience oscillating between the old and the new – its participants contemplate contemporary art in the shadow of ancient cellars while savouring new oil and tasting aging wine.

This year the creators of the project offer not only an insightful interpretation of the local but also an invitation to join them onto a journey through continents spanning Asia, Europe and both Americas. While traveling across Tuscany, relishing its aromas, colours and scents, their guests discover the potential of the place, the famous genius loci  but also explore the distant, the global by following the stories told by works created in 10 different countries. Immersed in here and now, we need to stay conscious about reality brought to us by artists from around the world.

L’âme d’un artiste est insondable. Cependant, à la différence des autres êtres humains, l’artiste nous offre ses œuvres qui reflètent son esprit. Mon grand-père Pablo Picasso est celui qui a le plus exprimé son talent d’une œuvre à l’autre, toujours inspiré par ce qui l’entourait. D’une période artistique à l’autre, il a témoigné de sa vie personnelle mais aussi de ses engagements politiques.

Lorsque je passe d’un portrait de ma grand-mère Marie-Thérèse à l’une de ses céramiques ou sculptures, je voyage dans son esprit et devine chaque fois un moment de bonheur que ce soit celui de l’homme ou de l’artiste. Lorsqu’il s’agit d’une gravure, je comprends la différence entre le talent et le génie. C’est à ce moment que je reconnais qu’il restera toujours une partie de mystère. Une femme qui avait rencontré Pablo m’a dit un jour : “ son regard m’a transpercé”. Pablo Picasso savait voir à travers la réalité pour nous montrer la vérité. Et ça je n’en suis pas capable !

The soul of an artist is unfathomable. However, unlike other humans, the artist offers us his works that reflect his spirit. My grandfather Pablo Picasso is the one who most expressed his talent from one work to the next, always inspired by what surrounded him. From one artistic period to the next, he testified of his personal life but also of his political commitments.

When I pass from a portrait of my grandmother Marie-Thérèse to one of his ceramics or sculptures, I travel in his mind and guess each time a moment of happiness that it is that of the man or the artist he was. When it comes to an engraving, I understand the difference between talent and genius. It is at this moment I recognize that there will always remain a part of mystery. A woman who had met Pablo told me once : “his eyes pierced me”. Pablo Picasso knew how to see through reality to show us the truth. And I can not!

In the 18th Century it was the tradition for wealthy families to send youths on a cultural tour of Europe as a “rite of passage”.

ART of the Treasure Hunt 2017 invites you to traverse the world by looking at the works of artists as they express their vision and their pain. Twenty three artists from eleven countries come together in Tuscany, home of Dante Alighieri where incredible beauty and tales of battles and strife bred history.

I thank the artists without whom there is no life. A heartfelt thank you to Bruno Bralfperr, whom I met in 2011 when he was 21yrs, and had just graduated from Institute Criar, an NGO founded by Luciano Hulk, Rio Brazil for media studies for young people of limited means. Seven years later Bruno exhibits his photographs “Lisbon dreams” in Castello di Volpaia and he made the wonderful videos for us.

I thank Stanley Buchthal, Najwa Najjar and Olivier Picasso for allowing us to show their amazing films at Borgo San Felice this summer.

We will always have a voice and we will always be heard. Because there will always be artists.

Luziah Hennessy