He recalled that he had been drawing with pencils since he was a child, and later went to art high school and finally chose the Department of Architecture at Cornell University because the courses there were the most art-oriented.

In the latest Artycapucines Artist Cooperation Series of Louis Vuitton , the all-black studded leather handbag designed by architect Peter Marino tells many stories: Marino's love for Venice , his selfless support for the cause of cultural protection, his cherishing and curiosity of antiquities left after the passage of time and the change of times, the unruly of motorcycle leather, the inheritance of leather making craftsmanship, and the determination to break the boundaries between art and crafts, art and architecture. And these above reflect Marino's practice and Louis Vuitton's vision.

Peter Marino's handbag designed for the 2022 Louis Vuitton Artycapucines artist collaboration series

Peter Marino has a very recognizable personal image. Its head to toe black leather locomotive equipment is dotted with rough and unruly silver jewelry. However, under this "Mad Max"-like appearance, there is a learned and keen connoisseur. Marino holds many titles: architect, collector, philanthropist, artist, but he calls himself "architect craftsman" (architect craftsman) . In his opinion, all handmade objects are qualified to be works of art, interior design or luggage design are art projects, and those identities are integrated into one, making the unique Peter Marino.

Peter Marino ©Sean Davidson

Marino I have always been interested in art. He recalled that he had been drawing with pencils since he was a child, and later went to art high school and finally chose the Department of Architecture at Cornell University because the courses there were the most art-oriented. Marino, who once thought he would become an artist, often visited studios of artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, Andy Warhol, and observed that “What Pop artists are doing is to push things into the future for 20 years, and I don’t know if I can do that.” Architecture seems more handy for Marino, who has been a child in the studio of the engineer’s father, “I think I have more opportunities to achieve something in architecture than in painting,” he concluded. Therefore, Marino's practice of integrating art and architecture is more natural.

Entering Andy Warhol's circle (his girlfriend was Warhol's assistant at the time), thus reaching artists, especially patrons from Europe, is more inspiring to Marino, who grew up in Queens .

Like his mentor and early supporter Warhol, Marino was happy to play the role of a provocateur, and this fearless precociousness helped him start his own architecture firm in 1978, less than 30 years old.

Marino's art collection starts with Warhol. When he worked for Warhol, the latter paid for artworks and each of them was signed with “To Peter from Andy”. From the initial purchase of old items at the antique market, to the economic ability to buy art on a large scale after the rapid development of the construction industry in the late 80s, Marino said: "I can't stop now. My goal is not to have a large amount of money in the bank when I died, I just have the artwork!" His collection is amazing in terms of type, scale and quality, including Renaissance and Baroque bronzes (which were opened by Pierre Bergé), French ceramics from the 19th century, and hundreds of paintings, photography, sculptures and mixed media works by the most famous artists in the late 20th and early 21st century.

In his architectural firm, between tables and chairs, cabinets, and architectural models, there are a wide variety of artworks in different styles, jumping into the protagonists of the space: works of Master Pope, works of Damien Hirst, silver sculptures by Joel Morrisons, photography by Robert Mapplethorpe, Richard Prince, Steven Meisel, paintings by German post-war masters Georg Baselitz and Anselm Kiefer, and of course the iconic collection of skull elements (for Marino of Southern Italian descent, the skull symbolizes good luck) and portraits of Marino.

Many art museums hold exhibitions for Marino’s collection—such as the Wallace Collection in London displaying his bronzes, while Miami ’s Bass Museum of Art focuses on contemporary collections, trying to restore the atmosphere of the complete integration of art and design in the studio.

In 2021, he founded the Peter Marino Art Foundation to restore and transform a past public library in Southampton, New York into an art exhibition and seminar space of more than 800 square meters. Marino is also the chairman of Venice Heritage , and has been committed to the protection of Venice architecture, art and crafts for the past 20 years.

Previous picture: Palazzo Sernagiotto, repaired by Peter Marino, 1991

Previous picture: New York Public Library, repaired by Peter Marino, 1993

©Peter Marino

And Marino's own creation is in line with his artistic collection and cultural sponsorship. A series of sculptural bronze boxes were inspired by eternal and durable bronze products; the textile design created for Rubelli of Italy paid tribute to the rococo artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and the 19th-century French porcelain maker Pierre-Adrien Dalpayrat; the design of glass vases and lamps for Venini of Italy and silver bowls and containers for Garrido of Spain all revolve around the exploration and innovation of traditional handicrafts; the pen created for Swiss pen dealer Caran d’Ache reflects his beloved high-performance motorcycle aesthetics...

"Peter Marino Art Architechture》©Phaidon

In addition to collecting art and creating art, Marino also commissioned international new and blue-chip artists to create more than 300 designated art works, integrated into his architecture and interior design, and was also recorded and published by Phaidon.

Marino adheres to the principle of equal importance to architecture and interior design, emphasizing the cooperation between architecture and visual arts. In this way, as the award speech for awards " French Art and Literature Officer Medal" was written, he "not only became a great supporter of contemporary artists, but also provided a new way to look at architecture and design."

Nowadays, in addition to designing projects such as private homes and hotels, designing retail stores for international luxury brands accounts for half of Marino's entire business. Since 1994, for Louis Vuitton alone, he has designed at least three or four stores every year, many of which are in China. “Every time we do a project, we push innovation up ten percent,” Marino said, art is undoubtedly his main tool. As for the exterior of the building, the metal sun on the exterior wall of Louis Vuitton's flagship store in Vendome Square in Paris, the colorful explosion comet on New Bond Street in London, the Ocean World in Ginza, and the Tiger Tail installation in Taikoo Ri, Chengdu are all his proud works in recent years.

. Inside the boutique, with the supplement and help of artwork, the new model of contemporary fashion boutique opened by Marino is happy, happy, bright and colorful, "has a real evolution in the direction of lighter, clearer and happier."

And these works include Keith Haring murals, Annie Morris's foam ball pile sculpture, Farhad Moshiri's embroidery works, Josh Sperling's modeling canvas, Jean-Michel Othoniel's glass beads sculpture, Matt Gagnon's totem pole.But what makes Marino most memorable is James Turrell's lighting works. He said: "The themes that always appear in my works are light, materiality, space... I am a huge fan of James Turrell, and I like to connect his works with Louis Vuitton. In my opinion, the ultimate luxury of is space and light, and both of them are reflected in Turrell."

designed by Peter Marino on London Bond Street, Louis Vuitton, 2019 ©Peter Marino

Of course, Louis Vuitton's close relationship with art is far ahead of its cooperation with Marino. Nearly a century ago, Gaston-Louis Vuitton, the grandson of the brand founder, commissioned artists to design windows, packaging, etc. for Louis Vuitton boutiques. Since the late 1980s, Louis Vuitton has invited a series of famous artists such as Sol LeWitt, Kamiya Yayoi, Cindy Sherman, Murakami Takashi , Jeff Koons, etc. to completely transform the brand's most representative works. In this process, the rules of creative cooperation between luxury brands and artists were also rewritten.

, the Capucines handbag launched in 2013, was named after the Neuve-des-Capucines Road in Paris, where Louis Vuitton's first store was located in 1854. It soon became one of the brand's new classics and most beloved designs. Subsequently, Louis Vuitton launched the Artycapucines Artist Collaboration Series in 2019. This handbag's classic shape with extremely plasticity has become the perfect canvas for artists to display their creativity and inspire endless imagination. Since then, Louis Vuitton sincerely invites six international artists to write a new chapter for the series every year, including Urs Fischer, Alex Israel, Tschabalala Self, Beatriz Milhazes, Henry Taylor, Liu Wei , Zhao Zhao, Huang Yuxing , Vik Muniz, Paola Pivi, Zeng Fanzhi , etc.

022 Louis Vuitton Artycapucines Artist Cooperation Series Handbags. The collaborative artists are: Ugo Rondinone, Daniel Buren, Kennedy Yanko, Park Seo-Beo, Amélie Bertrand and Peter Marino

022, the fourth chapter of the Artycapucines series invited Daniel Buren, Kennedy Yanko, Park Seo-Beo, Amélie Bertrand, Peter Marino and Ugo Rondinone to reinterpret the classics. The new works continue the previously amazing creativity, integrating the artist's creative talent and the novel and exquisite craftsmanship of the brand craftsman masters, and at the first "Art + Paris: presented by Art Basel Exhibition" (Parishml4+ par Art Basel) 's Louis Vuitton booth is unveiled. During the same period, the Artycapucines series was first launched worldwide on October 20, with each handbag limited to 200 pieces (50 pieces of each color for multi-color handbags designed by Daniel Buren).

022 Louis Vuitton Artycapucines Artist Cooperation Series Handbags

Among them, the Artycapucines handbag designed by Peter Marino is full black tone, with a grand and eye-catching shape. Marino tells the source of its inspiration:

"I am the president of the Venetian Heritage when we were raising funds to restore a 14th-century building called the Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista. On a visit, I noticed a medieval antique hard box near the majestic staircase designed by Mauro Codussi (the famous early Renaissance architect of Venice) with heavy straps and a medieval key. I took inspiration from these elements, reinterpreted, transformed it into this brand new Artycapucines Handbag. ”

Artycapucines Handbag production process

The whole body is made of hand-cut Louis Vuitton delicate cowhide leather carefully spliced ​​with 315 lightweight studs, which achieve visual tension and unique touch. The outer layer of the handbag is paired with a new, ingenious sliding lock design to create a strong visual effect: the metal rod trim with Louis Vuitton Monogram enamel florals secures it firmly when folded forward. The leather handle is equally striking, with a whip-like shape, hand-woven and assembled. Paired with black leather lining and easy-to-carry adjustable shoulder straps, the overall look is perfect for a strong and harmonious and unified visual effect.

Marino uses the three keywords of modern, eternal, and tactile to describe his Artycapucines.

In his interpretation, black "is an elegant color that creates depth", giving this handbag a mysterious attraction. In addition, his design is avant-garde, steady, and elegant, and undeniably tough core. It is not only a practical and wear-resistant daily bag, but also can be displayed at home as a work of art. Ultimately, as Marino's architectural practice and other works explore, he overturned the old rules that distinguish fine art (fine arts) from decorative art (decorative arts) time and time again.

Written by: Ma Junyi

Editor: Xia Han

Organizer: Alareiks

Picture acknowledgements to Louis Vuitton and Peter Marino Architect 5