Sydney Restaurant Group and the Italian Cultural Institute are delighted to present Art & Dine, a three-part series celebrating the rich connection between Italian art, food and wine.
Each dinner in the series highlights a different Italian region, with carefully crafted menus and regional wines, accompanied by a unique artistic experience that brings together the senses, creativity and Italian cultural heritage.
The first event will take place on Wednesday, 26 August at Ventuno Restaurant, Walsh Bay, dedicated to the flavours and traditions of Trentino Alto Adige. Guests will enjoy a multi-course shared menu, perfectly paired with regional wines, while Italian artist Eleonora Pasti presents a selection of her striking contemporary works.
Pasti’s artistic practice explores the intimate relationship between materials, memory and human experience. Through sculptures and textile-based works created with reclaimed fabrics, worn textiles and found objects, she reveals the hidden stories and emotional traces contained within everyday materials. Her works invite viewers to look beyond the surface and reflect on themes of identity, transformation and connection.
Inspired by the concept of “vibrant matter” theorised by philosopher Jane Bennett, Pasti approaches materials as active participants in the creative process, capable of carrying memories and generating new meanings. By transforming discarded objects into poetic and evocative artworks, she creates a dialogue between the past and the present, the personal and the collective, encouraging audiences to imagine alternative perspectives and realities.
About the artist
Born in Italy in Riva del Garda, Eleonora Pasti graduated in Psychology of Art from the University of Bologna, where she also studied semiotics under the guidance of renowned philosopher and semiotician Umberto Eco. A self-taught artist, she describes herself as an “artivist”, embracing an artistic practice where the political, personal and autobiographical are deeply intertwined.
Her work investigates the relationship between humans and the material world, exploring how objects and fabrics can become vessels of memory and emotion. Through a poetic transformation of recycled materials into contemporary artworks, Pasti challenges conventional ideas of value and beauty, giving new life to forgotten elements and uncovering the stories they hold.