At Frieze Los Angeles this year, coffee becomes something closer to a reflective surface than a caffeine break. Inside the illy lounge, where collectors, artists, and exhausted editors sneak away for a moment of calm, illycaffè is debuting its newest illy Art Collection in the United States, created with Swiss artist John Armleder. The presentation also marks Armleder’s first official collaboration showcased at Frieze Los Angeles.

Titled Tastes, the collection takes the classic illy cup and turns it into something reflective in every sense of the word. The mirrored, iridescent surfaces nod to Armleder’s iconic disco ball works, transforming an everyday espresso into a small sculptural moment. It’s playful, conceptual, and elegant.

Armleder, born in Geneva in 1948, has built a career on dissolving boundaries. Painting, furniture, performance, installation. He has never treated categories as fixed. Influenced by the Fluxus movement and the experimental thinking of John Cage, his work often challenges the line between high art and decorative object.
His furniture sculptures from the late 1970s blurred that distinction entirely. This collaboration with illy feels like a continuation of that mindset, just scaled down to fit between your hands.

And that is what makes it compelling. The cup does not just hold coffee. It reflects you, the booth behind you, the fair itself. Every sip becomes interactive. You are suddenly part of the piece, whether you intended to be or not.

illy has long positioned its Art Collection as a meeting point between ritual and creativity, collaborating with more than 135 international artists over the years. The pieces will be available through illy’s e-shop, retail locations, and select partners.

Frieze is always about the circulation of art. How it moves, how it’s sold, how it’s experienced. Armleder’s cups offer a subtle twist on that conversation. Sometimes art is not on a wall. Sometimes it is in your hands, catching the light, reflecting everything back at you.