Art, wine, and a melting horse

While enjoying a bottle of 2022 Jolie-Laide North Coast Grenache Syrah Mourvèdre on Sunday afternoon, the horse on the label melted into abstraction.

The text on the label led me to believe that it was a work by painter Francesco Clemente. The label was a reproduction of an ad for an exhibition of Clemente’s artwork from 2012-2013. His name was there at the top of the ad on the label followed by the exhibition dates and some additional text at the bottom with gallery info and other details. But the melting horse looked nothing like Clemente’s enigmatic and symbolic artwork. It appeared as if someone had painted long, thick streaks in varied blends of color over the horse in Clemente’s painting. It was different, and it looked cool.

I turned the bottle clockwise to the back label. There was the artist’s name: Jane Kassner. Additionally, there was mention that Kassner was part of Creative Growth Art Center in Oakland, a residency-style organization that advances the inclusion of artists with developmental disabilities in contemporary art.

Digging into Kassner’s bio reveals that she “experimented with a variety of substrates including painting on encyclopedia pages, fabric, and discarded gallery ads from ArtForum.” Mystery solved. The ad on the label must have been sourced from an art magazine, then painted over with strong, confident strokes to produce the artwork that made its way to this label.

This method of making work from the work of other artists or designers is similar to the approach and artwork of Richard Prince (although less contentious), Robert Rauschenberg, and Barbara Kruger. A fitting homage then to see this other artwork by Kassner painted over an ad of an artwork by Kruger, who created iconic work by wrapping found and manipulated images with broad strokes of her own.

The partnership between Jolie-Laide and Creative Growth is a powerful opportunity to share a collection of artworks as unique as the artists and wines being paired.

Artists have always been an essential part of Jolie-Laide’s wines and vintages, from Sarah Jarrett’s surreal collages to Claire Desjardins’s colorful abstractions, from Brian Gaberman’s dynamic photographs to Alma Haser’s media-defying images. The wine in the bottle, not typical California fare, is as unique as the artwork on the label: Trousseau Gris, Aligoté, Melon de Bourgogne, Cabernet Pfeffer, and Mondeuse, along with the more familiar yet indie tastes of Syrah, Grenache, and Gamay Noir.

I love Jolie-Laide’s wines, made by winemaker Scott Schultz and partner Jenny Schultz in Sonoma, especially their steadfast Fanucchi-Wood Road Trousseau Gris and single-vineyard Syrahs. Each is a sublime and kinetic pairing of art and craft.

The connection to the artists at Creative Growth is a special one, giving many artists the chance to get paid and get their work in front of more people. The 2024 Jolie-Laide releases features the artwork of twelve different artists affiliated with Creative Growth. Besides Jane Kassner, who beguiled me with the melting horse, I dig the following art and wine pairings.

The Jolie-Laide story rewards a curious head, heart, and palate.

Links:
Creative Growth + Jolie-Laide Label Collaboration
Creative Growth Art Center
Jolie-Laide Wines
Jane Kassner
Francesco Clemente exhibition