Paintings from wine – turning luxury into art
For Dario Succari, wine is more than just a beverage: „It is a highly precise craft that has the potential to inspire people through a wide range of senses“. The artist immortalizes exceptional wines in form of portraits, thus turning luxurious wines into art.
Therefore he devised an elaborate process that enables us to preserve exceptional craftsmanship in the form of impressive, elegant and stylistic paintings.
„Legends in a glass“
Dario Succari’s journey started with the idea of drawing attention to great winemaking by immortalizing the most important wines in the history of mankind. He portrays them stylistically and elegantly in the form preferred by the connoisseur: the glass matching the drink. For this purpose he processes selected wines by hand into paint that reflects the character of the original product. Subtle contours on a naturally black canvas are the perfect vessel to focus the attention of the enthusiast on the excellent wines that are the sole focus of each painting. What also makes the paintings remarkable is their impression of three-dimensionality, despite the minimalist way in which they are presented.
For his new series of paintings called „Legends in a Glass”, Succari processes precious wines with a value of several thousand euros. Succari starts with a 2010 Château Haut-Brion. A cuvée from Bordeaux, made from the grape varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This distinct red wine with the highest level „Premier cru classé“ designation and 100 Parker points is the origin of his painting „Château Haut-Brion 2010 dans le verre“. The reverse side of the painting is “signed” with the original cork that was used in the bottle which preserved this elegant wine.
One thing is particularly important for the artisan: The painting and the wine form an inseparable entity which should also be reflected in the way the art is experienced. Therefore Succaris art is always accompanied by a signed bottle of the same wine. In this way the wine enthusiast can enjoy the luxury and uniqueness of the wine as it is intended by the winery – with all senses and way beyond the degustation itself.
Wine as it should be experienced
The delivery of the artworks is carried out by a person who has been shaping the face of the German wine landscape internationally since 2018 and who supports Succaris vision in a convincing and sympathetic way. Each painting is delivered by Carolin Klöckner. As the German Wine Queen of 2018 she is an ambassador for great wine in Germany and internationally.
„Chateau Haut-Brion 2010 im Bordeauxglas“
The first painting of the series „Legends in a Glass“ shows and includes a Château Haut-Brion Pessac-Leognan 1er Grand Cru Classé in a minimalistic contoured Bordeaux glass. The cuvée of the grape varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc convinced Dario Succari immediately. On the back of the canvas he provides more details about the wine used for the painting. The artist attaches the original cork that was used to preserve the original wine. In case of sale, the buyer will also receive a signed bottle of the original wine: Château Haut-Brion Pessac-Leognan 1er Grand Cru Classé (0.75 liters).
Succari’s paintings reflect the true nature of wine. This means the texture and color of the paint can change slightly due to the natural aging process of the wine used for the painting. In this way the artist’s work, which is also embedded in the production of the paint, enables us to preserve the uniqueness of the product while at the same time experiencing the rawness of century old wine making techniques. Among other things, this fact indicates the authenticity of the wine colors. For price information and other requests, please contact the office commissioned by Dario Succari: info@atelier-succari.com
Other works of the „Legends in a glass“-Series will be also published on this page.
Dario Succari
Succari grew up in the heart of Europe, as part of a large family of wine growers and artisans. As a child he worked in the family vineyards and was familiarized with the steps and techniques necessary to make wine. After his teenage years, his passion for painting and creative work brought him to a renowned design college in Southern Germany. During his studies, Succari specialized in working with alternative and unusual materials as well as acrylic painting. Influenced by his heritage, Succari loves to be inspired by ever new wines. This is when he first came up with the idea of creating colors from his favorite wines and thus capturing them for the future. Finally he succeeded in using a special, purely manual, machine-free drying process which enabled him to preserve pure wine in the form of a paint that sustains the true character of the product. In 2020, Dario Succari painted the first picture with this special produced wine paint – a cuvée of Satin Noir, Regent and Pinotin. In addition, he uses only the contrasting colors white and black to deliberately bring the color of the wine into focus. His paintings are inspired by the philosophy of Bauhaus – timeless, functional, clear and reduced to the essentials. It is the wine itself that is molded into a new form. A statement. A reminder of an exceptional wine in a matching glass. Succari, using only the means most necessary for comprehension, creates the impression of three-dimensionality in his paintings by limiting himself to only four indicated lines. Nevertheless, his paintings appear close to reality because of the deliberate representation of reflections.
Characteristic of Succari’s portraits of wines in glasses is the deep black background, reminiscent of a surface of burnt wood, which he says reflects his preference for old, dry wines aged in barriques. For him the wood represents the tradition and natural purity in viticulture. On this background, elegantly surrounded by white contour lines, the best wines are shaped and immortalized.
In addition to the works for his private collection, Succari started painting the „Legends in a Glass“-Series in 2021. After animosities from opponents of what is called „provocative luxury art“, Dario Succari decided to withdraw from the public eye and operate under a pseudonym. Deciding to nevertheless realize his series „Legends in a Glass“, he henceforth acts and communicates exclusively through a young designers‘ office he has commissioned, which springs from his former place of study, in order to support other creative artists in the same way.
Dario Succari’s first painting with self-made wine paint, 50 x 70 cm, 2020, untitled:
Wine paint made by hand
After years of trial, Dario Succari succeeded in producing a color-intensive and highly opaque paste from pure wine. Using a special drying process in a dust-protected atmosphere, the liquid is pre-processed while preserving the purity of the wine color. An additional manual process is used to add a specific texture to the paint. If the process is not done right, the paint is hardly suitable for long-lasting works due to its comparatively low viscosity, opacity and adhesion.
With Succaris process, intense colors can be obtained even from wines that appear almost colorless, whereby the respective color always originates exclusively from the wine. In this way the process requires roughly 750 milliliters of wine for 20 to 40 milliliters of usable color which underlines the luxurious appeal of the finished piece of art.
Summary and further information: Dario Succari makes wine art. He does this by processing various wines into color. He has developed his own purely artisanal paint-making process, whereby one bottle of wine (0.75 liters) is transformed into approximately 20 to 40 milliliters of wine-grade paint. Each wine color produced is based on a wine selected by the artist and is therefore unique. Succaris first paintings are in private hands. In 2021, he started the „Legends in a Glass“-Series, turning famous wines into paint and then immortalizing them on a 50 x 70 cm canvas. Each corresponding wine painting includes on its reverse side precise information about the bottle and type of wine used for it. Likewise, to confirm the authenticity of the wine color in the paintings from „Legends in a Glass“ Succari attaches the original cork to the frame. The individual paintings can be purchased on request. A price information as well as the general contact to the artist takes place over an agency assigned by him. Dario Succari wants to promote other creative talents inspired by his heritage and fascination for viticulture. All paintings are delivered by the former German wine queen Carolin Klöckner together with a full bottle of the same wine. The photographs of the pictures painted with wine on this website show the original artworks. The wine paint ages which resembles the natural properties of precious wines and makes each painting unique and authentic. The artworks created for the “Legends in a Glass”-Series will be presented on this page. You can get further insights into the subject via Instagram or Pinterest or in direct contact with the management office: Jules & Jones. Your price requests will also be processed here. For this purpose, please contact us by mail: info@atelier-succari.com. Enjoy the visual pleasure of the wine pictures created by Dario Succari.