WallPaper 3

PHOTOGRAPHY: ALESSANDRO FURCHINO CAPRIA WRITER: LAURA HAWKINS

Graffiti’s cultural position has long been a

polarising topic – vandalism to some, a valid

art movement to others. Fendi is clearly in

the latter camp as street art forms the focus

of The Ring of the Future, a circular artwork

featuring the word ‘Future’ painted in six

languages on the roof of the Italian fashion

house’s HQ in Rome.

‘I see the rooftop as a blank canvas,’ says

Cristiana Monfardini, Fendi’s vice president

of communications and the project’s

mastermind. Working in collaboration with

London-based agency Global Street Art,

Fendi commissioned a sextet of street artists

to add their own typographic style to the

piece. The six artists come from the four

corners of the globe and include Hong Kong

artist Roes, London-based Iranian artist

Cave, Korean artist Jodae and LA-based

artist Hillel Smith. Smith works in Hebrew

to add a spray-painted vibrancy to Jewish

storytelling. ‘He takes something old and

reinterprets it with an unexpected aesthetic,’

says Monfardini.

Street art made an early impression on

Smith, when he used to cycle past the graffiti-

covered Melrose Alley in West Hollywood.

When he paints, he uses tape to control the

spontaneous flow of the spray paint, and

his colourful, geometric designs are inspired

by Spider-Man comic strips, Ed Ruscha and

René Magritte.

‘My work is about making Hebrew global,

fresh and exciting,’ Smith says. ‘This is an

alphabet that is more than 2,500 years old.

It has changed and developed. I love taking

elements of other styles to make the alphabet

part of the modern design conversation.’

Smith’s manifesto reflects Fendi’s bid to

update its own aesthetic. The Ring of the Future

is part of its F is For project, a digital platform

launched last year with the intention of

attracting a new generation of Fendi fans

among millennials. The artwork is also

part of Fendi’s drive to change the cultural

associations surrounding the Palazzo della

Civiltà Italiana, its HQ since 2015 (W*201).

The building was originally commissioned

by Mussolini in the 1930s and Fendi has found

it hard to shake off its Fascist connotations.

The Ring of the Future celebrates a

boundary-blind art. ‘It reflects the spirit of

international collaboration,’ says Smith. ‘The

harmony of all the scripts is what makes it

so powerful.’ ∂

fendi.com/fisfor; globalstreetart.agency;

hillelsmith.info

RIGHT AND BELOW,

THE ROOF OF FENDI’S HQ

IN ROME WITH THE RING

READY FOR CONTRIBUTIONS

FROM THE ARTISTS, SUCH

AS HILLEL SMITH (RIGHT)

BELOW RIGHT, A SKETCH

SHOWING HOW THE

SIX ARTISTS’ WORKS WILL

FIT WITHIN THE RING

Sky lines

A sextet of artists is ringing the changes

at Fendi’s Roman headquarters

∑

Art

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