Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco has been on the exhibition circuit for nearly 30 years, bringing his philosophical, geometric renderings to museums and galleries around the globe. The sculptor, photographer and video artist often uses his installations to capture suspended motion in everyday objects like pool tables and bike wheels to wide critical acclaim. Last year, he embarked on a retrospective tour, hitting up New York City’s MoMA, Switzerland’s Kunstmuseum, London’s Tate Modern, and Paris’ Centre Pompidou. The celebratory air was shared by the Casa Dragones Tequila brand, which accompanied Orozco throughout his travels.
The fruits of that partnership were certainly rich—beginning this month, Casa Dragones will sell limited-edition bottles of its 100% blue agave sipping tequila engraved with Orozco’s iconic 1997 Black Kites design for a staggering $1,850. Black Kites is a black-and-white checkerboarded skull, a three-dimensional artwork that a Casa Dragones press release describes as “representing the two sides of life that are constantly at odds, the grid represents rationality and the skull represents uncertainty.”
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Each of the 400 bottles is handcrafted, signed, numbered and dated by hand. The tequila, which will be available in time for the holidays at select retailers in the United States, Mexico and London, comes in an azure blue box decorated with the Black Kites skull on the front. Non-Orozco bottles typically retail for $275.
Like tequila itself, both Casa Dragones and Orozco hold strong Mexican roots. The tequila is a high-end style of 100% Blue Agave Joven Tequila that was founded in 2008 by Bertha González Nieves, and Bob Pittman, CEO of Clear Channel, and founder of MTV. La Casa Dragones is located in San Miguel de Allende, a pristine colonial town founded in the 1600s, nestled between two mountains in the heart of Mexico. Casa Dragones Tequila hails from the historical Mexican town San Miguel de Allende, where the Mexican Independence movement largely began. Orozco experimental, perspective-bending artwork echoes the theme of complex commentary.
“This is not a traditional artist brand collaboration,” Nieves told the Wall Street Journal. “It’s a result of us spending time together. He’s exported a very contemporary and interesting side of Mexico, and we’re trying to do the same thing.”
The bottles also reflect each parties’ modus operandi. Orozco often specifically creates his works for an occasion, while Casa Dragones has a history of supporting artists, galleries and museums around the world.