D'ORO D'ART
ARABESQUE
45.000,00 €
Arabesque. D’ORO D’ART debuts with Dara Birnbaum
D’ORO D’ART launches with a seminal figure in international video art: Dara Birnbaum. Widely regarded as one of the pioneers of this expressive form, Birnbaum has created a previously unseen, vertical version of her 2011 work Arabesque, conceived specifically to be housed within the sculptural-book format.
For the first time, the artist reinterprets one of her creations in this unique medium: Arabesque thus becomes the inaugural video-artwork of the D’ORO D’ART series, produced in an exclusive limited edition of just six copies.
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Arabesque, the iconic video artwork by video art pioneer Dara Birnbaum
For the occasion, the artist has reimagined her celebrated 2011 work Arabesque in a new, vertical format—adapted as a single-channel video and produced in a limited edition of just six pieces.
The composition interweaves image and sound to explore the relationship between Robert and Clara Schumann: their musical scores (Arabesque, Op. 18, and Romance, Op. 11) are layered with sequences from the 1947 film Song of Love, where Clara is portrayed as a silent muse. In Arabesque, Birnbaum restores her voice, her agency, and her creative dignity in a powerful meditation on gender, art, and representation.
Arabesque also marks the starting point of D’ORO D’ART, D’ORO Collection’s most visionary project to date—an encounter between contemporary art, cutting-edge technology, and artisanal bookmaking in an entirely new form: the sculptural book.
For the first time, the book becomes a vessel for a video artwork—handcrafted, adorned with gold detailing, and fitted with an integrated LCD screen that comes to life upon opening, activated by hidden sensors.
Each D’ORO D’ART work is designed to be indivisible: the video and its physical housing coexist as a single, unified piece.
The project is curated by two leading voices in the world of contemporary art: Barbara London, founder of the video art department at MoMA New York, and Valentino Catricalà, a renowned Italian curator specialising in art and visual culture.
Amplifying the value of the project is its launch in collaboration with one of the world’s most prestigious galleries: Marian Goodman Gallery, where Arabesque was unveiled during Art Basel Miami 2019, and where one edition of the work remains in the gallery’s collection today.
Arabesque, Special Limited Edition, ©2021
Digital Video Fine Art Book with Golden Cover Color Video; Stereo Sound; length: 6 mins. 29 seconds LCD screen with videoplay activated by sensors when book opens Audio: Arabeske in C major Op. 18, Robert Schumann (1839) and Romanze 1, Op.11, Clara Schumann (1839)
Closed Book Sizes (cm): 38 x 56.8 x 7.5
From an idea of : Salvatore Giorgio Dino
Post Productions Editors: Arabesque, ©2011, John Zieman; Arabesque, ©2021, Special Limited Edition: Michael Saia
Curators: Barbara London, Valentino Catricalà
Partner: Marian Goodman Gallery
Developers and Creators: D’ORO Collection srl
Special Thanks to: Burak Cakmak
D’ORO D’ART Project
In today’s landscape of contemporary art—where technology continuously reshapes languages and formats—D’ORO D’ART emerges as a visionary initiative, merging the excellence of Italian artisanal bookmaking with the power of international video art.
Conceived by Salvatore Giorgio Dino, founder and CEO of D’ORO Collection, D’ORO D’ART introduces a new kind of book-object: a work to be leafed through and activated, where visual storytelling comes to life through an embedded video that plays upon opening the cover. The project employs advanced technologies—including LCD screens and a long-life playback system—in which the audio-visual file becomes an integral and unalterable part of the work.
Leading this encounter between publishing and electronic art are Barbara London, founder of the video art department at MoMA New York, and Valentino Catricalà, an internationally renowned Italian curator and scholar specialising in the intersection of contemporary art and technology. Since 2019, the two have curated a programme that affirms video art as a critical, political and deeply emotional medium.
The project was inaugurated by Dara Birnbaum, a pioneering figure in video art who has radically transformed the way we perceive images in media. For D’ORO D’ART, Birnbaum reinterpreted her three-channel video Arabesque (2011), adapting it into a monographic format. The work reflects on the artistic and emotional relationship between Robert and Clara Schumann, weaving together archive material, musical performance and film excerpts from the 1947 film Song of Love. The result is an intimate and layered composition that explores the dialogue between sound, image and memory.
The conceptual delicacy of the piece resonates with the refined structure of D’ORO Collection’s handcrafted volumes, with the project being launched by Marian Goodman Gallery in the prestigious setting of Art Basel Miami.
In 2023, D’ORO D’ART initiated a new collaboration with artist Federico Solmi, broadening its scope through The Grand Voyage—a series divided into three thematic cycles, each composed of three artist’s books. The series continues to explore the frontiers of visual art, multimedia narrative and the book as sculptural object, expanding the expressive range of the collection.
D’ORO D’ART is a statement of intent: not just a new way of conceiving art publishing, but a true laboratory of form, where time, image and matter converge to forge a language that speaks to the present while preserving the memory of our age.
“I have always dreamed of creating a "transcendental" book capable of addressing every individual in the world, overcoming all language barriers: I knew art could be the universal key to this challenge. And making the first handmade book in history that features digital art inside was the revolution that only D'ORO could imagine… ”
Salvatore Giorgio Dino
Each D’ORO Collection volume is shipped following precise rules which preserve its value.
After the quality checks, the book – protected by its case or by shock-absorbing pads – is positioned inside the Book Box with its certificate of authenticity and warranty.
The Book Box – a true design piece – is wrapped in protective paper and shipped inside a robust cardboard box specially developed to optimally safeguard the book during the shipment.
The parcel is then sealed and handed over to selected forwarders for rapid insured air shipment.
