Breast Stupas Valentino acquired by local art collector

Created to mark the inaugural edition of Art SG last year, ‘Breast Stupas Valentino’ has now been acquired by a local art collector. Proceeds from the sale were donated to local charity United Women Singapore

Since it was introduced at Valentino’s spring/summer 2023 fashion show, the Toile Iconographe canvas has become, well, iconic. Designed by creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli, the monogram is marked by a hypnotic repetition of the Italian fashion brand’s famous “V” logo, embodying the concept of freedom and creative possibilities.

We’ve seen the striking Toile Iconographe on bags, shoes, ready-to-wear and even skin, via a campaign starring Valentino muse Kristen McMenamy. The monogram then found its place in art, thanks to Valentino’s collaboration last year with Thai artist Pinaree Sanpitak.

Titled Breast Stupas Valentino, the collaboration was commissioned to mark the first edition of Art SG, an international contemporary art fair that is part of Singapore Art Week. At once sensorial as it is real, the collaborative piece presents Sanpitak’s signature breast sculptures, which symbolise femininity and motherhood, reimagined in the maison’s signature and timeless print.

Above Thai artist Pinaree Sanpitak (Photo: Lee Wei Swee)

Above Close-up of ‘Breast Stupas Valentino’ featuring the Toile Iconographe canvas (Photo: Valentino)

Sanpitak’s practice is an abiding fascination with the potentiality of the body, her lived experience as a woman and the charged and convivial space between and among bodies. Sanpitak’s pieces reveal a keen sensitivity towards a range of materials that produce compelling bodies of work, and these sculptures evoke a sense of liberation through the unique celebration of the “V” logo. Conversing with the environment that surrounds it, Breast Stupas Valentino expands and rediscovers—becoming a symbol of diversity and a multitude of possibilities.

“It is a celebration of the body as the site of the sacred and the sensual,” says Sanpitak of her artwork. “I see the Valentino Toile Iconographe on the bodies of models and on my own sculptures in a similar view to the maison’s values of freedom, community, inclusivity.”

Above An immersive art experience and conversation curated by Chomwan Weeraworawit and conceived with Pinaree Sanpitak at the Warehouse Hotel (Photo: Valentino)

Beyond putting a female artist in the spotlight, Valentino also champions women through philanthropy. Following a period of installation at the Warehouse Hotel, Breast Stupas Valentino was sold to a Singaporean art collector, Ryan Su. Proceeds from the sale were then donated to local charity United Women Singapore, a fund dedicated to women’s empowerment and gender equality.

Tatler Singapore spoke with Su to learn more about his acquisition of Breast Stupas Valentino, and his future plans for the sculptures.

Above Ryan Su is a Singaporean art collector and lawyer (Photo: Ryan Su)

What is it about the artwork, and artist that resonated with you?
I have always loved Sanpitak’s work. While people see her work for its feminine aspects and maternal forms, what resonated with me was the sensibility of her oeuvre characterised by a type of quiet, unadorned beauty. She is a master of using very simple shapes and materials, whether in sculpture or in painting, and a master colourist—from the beautiful autumn tones in her paintings at the 59th Venice Biennale, to her black-and-white exhibition at Nova Gallery, Bangkok.

I had the privilege of visiting Sanpitak’s home and studio some years ago, and can now finally add her work to my collection. Breast Stupas Valentino, in the Maison’s toile iconographe motif, in red and black, are not only in Valentino’s signature colours but Sanpitak’s as well. I have come across many artist collaborations in my work as an art and intellectual property lawyer, but none as authentic and organic as this. The decision to acquire the work was only natural.

Above ‘Breast Stupas Valentino’ on display at The Warehouse Hotel (Photo: Valentino)

What made you want to add it to your collection?
Aside from the beauty and significance of the work, and the technical aspects in its execution (as mastered by Sanpitak’s fashion designer son, Shone Puipia), the decision to acquire the work was also to champion art and artists from the region. Southeast Asian artists need to be better represented in institutions and collections, especially in the West, where Sanpitak has been a trailblazer. A lot of the work that I do, as a board member of non-profit organisations in the arts, is to champion artists, and also, to increase arts awareness. One way to do this is also to build a collection of art and share it with the public by putting it on display and making it accessible.

Where will the artwork be displayed?
I am planning to display the work as part of a public exhibition. Breast Stupas Valentino was only put on display briefly at the Warehouse Hotel last January during Art SG and not many people have seen it in the flesh. I have always been a proponent of seeing art in person as it is a spiritual experience—even more so when the art happens to be Sanpitak’s.

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Topics

Valentino Pinaree Sanpitak Fashion collaborations Art Art SG Ryan Su Singapore Art Week

Tatler Asia

Discover the sensual Toile Iconographe collaboration by Valentino and Thai artist Pinaree Sanpitak