Art and food have always had a tight relationship. From Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper to Pablo Picasso’s Bread and Fruit Dish on a Table, from Vanessa Beecroft The Book of Food to Daniel Spoerri’s Eat Art, plenty of artists have devoted their artistic practice to food, as well as the issues and aesthetics related to it.

Daniel Spoerri with his Labaktisch (2011) and Vanessa Beecroft VB52.02 held in 2003 in Rivoli Italy.

It is no chance occurrence that during the last years a new trend has emerged in both contemporary art and fine dining: Michelin-starred restaurants and establishments are transforming into art galleries, exhibition places where, apart from indulging in the pleasures of fine dining, customers are involved into an aesthetic journey centered on contemporary art. This is the case of globally-renowned Italian restaurant Osteria Francescana, one of the best locations for contemporary dining.

Chef Massimo Bottura in front of Ugo Rondinone' s piece.

When the Modena chef Massimo Bottura opened his restaurant Osteria Francescana in 1995, and started creating the dishes that would turn him into a luminary of the culinary avant-garde, Italy was not on the map of modern cuisine yet. His visionary approach challenged the definition of taste and tradition; but his farsightedness went far beyond the culinary realm. Bottura decided to combine his culinary talent with contemporary art and design, two of his biggest passions. These latter ones are reflected in Bottura's dishes and cooking ethos -often inspired by contemporary art- but also in the design of both his restaurant and home.

Together with his wife, Lara Gilmore, he has collected a varied body of work featuring classic design pieces as well as thought-provoking artworks by artists like Maurizio Cattelan, Frank Stella, Sandro Chia, Francesco Vezzoli, Matthew Barney, just to name a few. Iconic pieces by some of the most-wanted contemporary artists decorate the couple's home and the Osteria, located a few steps away from each other. The two spaces disclose Bottura’s cooking and collecting universe. "We built our restaurant to feel like our home, Massimo and Lara's place," says the chef. "Twelve tables, small rooms where I can talk with my guests and show my respect."

Entrance of Osteria Francescana with an artwork by late Italian artist Mario Schifano.

Massimo’s enthusiasm for contemporary art probably goes down to the time he spent in New York during the 1990s, as well as his American wife, and the restaurant’s proximity to gallery owner Emilio Mazzoli’s exhibition space. In a new publication centered on the chef edited by Phaidon, Mazzoli explains that he “adopted the place as his entertaining canteen, bringing in an A-list roster of Italian and American photographers, painters and sculptors.” Soon the artists started to bring friends. Cindy Sherman showed up with David Byrne one night—he had been playing a concert nearby. Bottura, as obsessive about music as visual art, ran home to get a stack of albums for the musician to sign.

Contemporary art has become a way of living for Bottura. He passionately explains, "When you buy an artwork, you buy the thinking of an artist and this allows you to understand yourself better, provides you the chance to look into yourself." Speaking of his collecting ethos, the chef once said that he follows his guts, while his wife Lara is more rational, and therefore she is in charge of the in depth study of a selected artist. A dear friend of theirs, who is a curator, helps them to bring their visions together.

Be daring is a key word, almost an imperative for Bottura culinary choices as well as his artistic ones. It is not accidental that he has arranged many challenging pieces in his restaurant. Take for example a trio of stuffed pigeons by contemporary-art world bad boy Maurizio Cattelan, which are perched above a trompe l'oeil trash bag cast in bronze by British artist Gavin Turk. The stuffed birds and Turk bag, that both deal with issues of authenticity and identity, and engage with debates surrounding the ‘myth’ of the artist and the ‘authorship’ of a work of art are a perennial conversation starter. In an article published in the prestigious Wall Street Journal, Bottura affirms that "there are people who don't get it. I've heard them whispering, 'Can you believe it, they left the garbage on the floor.'" Despite the skepticism that similar pieces may arise, the chef is often fascinated by pieces that get him and the viewer thinking. "We are not in a location where nature can inspire us," he says. "We are in the middle of a medieval city. Art became our landscape of ideas." Bottura is not even afraid of massive pieces and often acquires challenging artworks in terms of scale. The acquisition of Ugo Rondinone’s piece is a perfect example of his boldness. "We'd been looking for one of these for 15 years," says the chef. "When I saw it come up for auction I didn't even think whether or not it would fit."

Maurizio Cattelan Pigeons that were exhibited during 1996 Venice Biennale and Gavin Turk Bag are in of the corridors of Osteria Francescana

Among the other pieces on view in his restaurant, Francesco Vezzoli's La Vie en Rose series, 19 black-and-white stills of Edith Piaf with embroidered tears. Bottura bought this set 14 years ago for $16,000 and now it is worth roughly 10 times that. Mario Schifano is present in both the chef's home and restaurant. World Map, a map in bright colors with borderless continents bleeding into each other welcome the guests arriving at Osteria while Balena (Whale) hangs on the wall of his bright and spacious living room. While the rotating work at the restaurant is remarkable, Bottura’s collection shown at home is no less impressive and varied. Works by David Salle, Robert Longo and Vik Muniz co-exist with iconic design pieces by design masters.

View of the interior of the restaurant featuring Francesco Vezzoli work as well as iconic lamp Arco by by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Flos.

Table: Fronzoni ’64 by Cappellini; lamp: Chandelier by David Chipperfield, FontanaArte; on the right: Cone Chair vintage by Verner Panton; in the front, the painting Blu Oltremare by Mario Dellavedova and on the right the painting Balena by Mario Schifano. Photography by Filippo Bamberghi for Living - Styling Silvia Valassina.

Armchairs: Cassina, i Maestri and coffee table Saarinen Tulip by Eero Saarinen, Knoll International; sofa: Florence Knoll Lounge Seating by Florence Knoll; armchair Eames Lounge Chair by Charles and Ray Eames, Vitra, set beside the lamp Taccia by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Flos. In the center, a carpet by Frank Stella; table with wheels by Gae Aulenti for FontanaArte and lamp Skygarden by Marcel Wanders, Flos. Artworks by Simon Starling, George Condo and Sandro Chia. Photography by Filippo Bamberghi for Living - Styling Silvia Valassina.

Bedroom, bed: Cappellini and behind it After Party by Gian Marco Montesano; vintage sofa by George Nelson and the artwork Yellow Monochrome with Bic by Carlo Benvenuto, beside it Arco by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Flos. Photography by Filippo Bamberghi for Living - Styling Silvia Valassina.

"We're not choosing the art," Bottura says," the art is choosing us. The pieces are choosing the walls where they hang." Therefore, art has never been a mere decorative motif for the chef. It is a carrier of meaning able to change the semantics of cooking, not just the semantics of living. Some of Bottura’s dishes are a tribute to contemporary artists. Take Camouflage, his nod to Picasso, with a civet of wild hare “hiding” in custard under a blanket of powdered herbs and spices. Bottura also compares his dish Beautiful Psychedelic Veal Not Flame-Grilled, to another familiar gallery sight. “We use colour like Damien Hirst in his spin paintings." Jonathan Borofsky Half a Sailboat Painting that hangs on the walls at Osteria provided the inspiration for Bottura’s Half a cheesecake. Music is a source of inspiration, too. The legendary dish Black on Black is his tribute, by way of squid ink, katsuobushi, and a black cod, to Thelonious Monk, an American jazz pianist and composer, considered one of the giants of American music.

Massimo Bottura’s tributes to Picasso and Monk.

Bottura’s interest in contemporary art has gained him a worldwide reputation. He is the only Italian chef included in Cookbook, an exhibition that explores the relationship between art and the creative cooking process that a chef undertakes. The exhibit featured not just cookbooks from famous chefs but also some of their signature dishes, videos, photos and scrapbooks of their creative process. Much interested in the potential of cooking, Bottura has also taken part in Aroundmorandi at Mambo in Bologna, investigating the work of Giorgio Morandi from the culinary point of view.

Massimo Bottura’s homage to Fontana in Meteorite, exhibited in Cookbook at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Paris.