Valentino Monticello

Valentino Monticello has three passions: wine, opera and art. An exceptional talent, Monticello cuts and shapes his favourite wine labels into unique artworks that combine an in-depth knowledge of opera and an appreciation of world-class wines. The resulting collages defy belief, when one witnesses the care and the attention to detail which is involved in their creation. The starting point for each collage is an operatic scene about wine. The artist then selects wine labels from the country where the opera is set, painstakingly cuts them into figures and shapes, and styles them into a composition that also reflects the opera's country of origin. Most scenes are framed by a proscenium, copied from the designs of 11 different Opera houses. No painting or drawing is involved in Monticello's collages. The results are both theatrical and multi-faceted. Born into a viticultural milieu near Vicenza in the Veneto region of Italy, he grew up amongst wine makers; his uncle made grappa in Bassano and often, as a young child, Monticello would help press grapes with his grandfather. In the 1950s, he moved to London to work as a sommelier and in the 1980s he became Head Sommelier at Harry's Bar, a prestigious private members' dining club in London. Monticello has drawn and painted since he was a child but it was whilst working as Head Sommelier that he focused his artistic endeavours upon opera and wine-themed collages. As a sommelier, Monticello had started to collect the labels of wine bottles, as a memento of his favourite wines, great vintages and for their design. This collection, and a commissioned collage in an old people's home, inspired him recently to publish a book about wine, opera and his collages. The book was launched at an exhibition of Monticello's collages at the National Gallery, London to critical acclaim. Mark Birley, the owner of Harry's Bar, recognised Monticello's talent, and in 1997, he asked the artist to design the club's Christmas card. Monticello used the Christmas scene from Puccini's La Boheme. The backdrop was not Paris however but London's South Audley Street, where Harry's Bar is situated. The entire creation was made from wine and champagne labels and created the stir which pushed Monticello's remarkable artwork to prominence.