Club degli Orafi Italia, thanks to the indispensable support of the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), is taking part for the first time in miart, – Milan’s international modern and contemporary art fair, from 14 to 16 April 2023 at Allianz MiCo, with its Double Face exhibition, displaying the art jewelry of eight members and curated by Alba Cappellieri.
DOUBLE FACE
TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE IN ART JEWELRY – Press release English version
DOUBLE FACE
TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE IN ART JEWELRY
Club degli Orafi exhibition for miart 2023 | Curated by Alba Cappellieri
Club degli Orafi Italia, thanks to the indispensable support of the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), is taking part for the first time in miart, – Milan’s international modern and contemporary art fair, from 14 to 16 April 2023 at Allianz MiCo, with its Double Face exhibition, displaying the art jewelry of eight members and curated by Alba Cappellieri.
Double-facedness is not just a metaphor or a narrative device, but an interpretative approach that makes it possible to examine and reflect on the “double” nature of the jewelry on display. The exhibits can be appreciated on two levels: as expressions both of their tangible qualities as jewelry, associated with the use of precious materials and production techniques, and of their intangible qualities, namely those of creativity, innovation, experimentation and contamination, where art is the unifying element, inviting us to reflect on the concept of “precious” in the contemporary world.
The theme of the double is central to the arts, where it can take on various guises, depending on the artistic and cultural context in which it is represented. From Titian, Anish Kapoor, Salvador Dali, Cindy Sherman and Jan Vermeer, to Claes Oldenburg, Giuseppe Penone, Michelangelo Pistoletto and Marina Abramovic, there are numerous artists who throughout history have explored the concept of the double as a way of looking at identity, but also at the invisible, the spiritual, illusions and shadows.
In jewelry, the theme of the double has not met with similar exegetical success, probably because, historically, items of jewelry have tended to be one-sided, with their preciousness based on the splendor of their materials – gems and metals – or craftsmanship. Precious gems and artistic craftsmanship represent the tangible qualities of traditional jewelry, which can be seen in all civilizations and periods of history. In the contemporary world, jewelry has acquired new values and meanings, with intangible qualities such as creativity, experimentation, contamination, and authorship being considered precious.
Art jewelry in fact originated with figurative artists who considered jewelry as a form of wearable art, and as one of the many media available to express their creative voice. In art jewelry there is none of the desire for ornament we see in mainstream jewelry or fashion jewelry, but nor does it embody any social, religious, or political symbolism, or perform the apotropaic functions typical of jewelry in its various contexts since prehistory. The value of these creations is in the creator’s artistic thought, research and experimentation.
The works have been selected for their double-faced nature, in terms of tangible and intangible qualities, for their artistic ability to express precious gems and techniques, but also ideas, concepts, and unconventional landscapes of the contemporary world.
The items of jewelry on display encompass artistic concepts developed from multiple perspectives. Some are the expression of important joint projects with artists such as Giò Pomodoro, who has created jewelry for Cesari & Rinaldi Gemmai and UnoaErre, and Sergio Fermariello, creator of the bracelet for de’Nobili, who here interpreted their respective experiments in the medium of jewelry with results of great interest and quality. Other exhibits draw their inspiration from art, as in the Puzzle Arlecchino earrings by Mattioli, inspired by Pointillisme and the Carnival of Mirò, or the enveloping creations by Vhernier, which evoke the elegant, soft shapes of the sculptures by Constantin Brancusi, Max Bill or Barbara Hepworth, or the transformable necklace by Alfredo Correnti, inspired by the sinuosity of Art Nouveau. These pieces explore artistic experimentation, as in the Wave bracelet by Angeletti, where the ancient tradition of jewelry meets the innovation of new materials, or the coral skull by Liverino, which is transformed into a sculpture.
Eight authors offer double-faced interpretations of the relationship between art and jewelry with a single common denominator: they are all meetings of jewelry and artistry.
The Italian Trade Agency (ITA), thanks to the support of its network of foreign offices in over 72 countries around the world, has put together a delegation of around 70 professionals, mainly from the following geographical areas: Europe, Asia, North America, South America, and South Africa. The aim of this promotional support is to encourage the development of business contacts between the Italian exhibiting companies and the foreign collectors visiting the fair, carefully selected by ITA with the collaboration of the organizers.
The Curator – Alba Cappellieri, Ph.D.
Academic, curator and author, Full Professor of Jewelry and Fashion Accessories Design at the Polytechnic University of Milan, where she is director of the international post-graduate course in Fashion Accessories Design. From 2013 to 2016 she taught Design for Innovation at Stanford University. She is a member of the academic committee for the Ecole Van Cleef&Arpels in Paris, the Gijs Bakker Foundation in Amsterdam, the Cologni Foundation in Milan, the Altagamma Giovani Imprese Award in Milan, and the De Beers New Talents Awards in Gaborone. She was appointed Ambassador of Italian Design for the Italian Design Day in Osaka in 2017, in Sydney in 2018, in Baku in 2019, in Miami in 2020, in Rabat in 2021, in Hamburg in 2022, and in Cyprus in 2023. In 2014 she founded the Museo del Gioiello in the Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza, and remained the museum’s curator until 2021. She provides research, curatorship and consultancy services for major international jewelry manufacturers and institutions, including: VanCleef&Arpels, Tiffany, Bulgari, Buccellati, De Beers, Cartier, Pomellato, Chantecler, Roberto Coin, Intisars, Shiphra, and Recarlo.
Club degli Orafi Italia is an independent association that brings together the leading companies in Italian jewelry, representative of the various categories and market leaders in their respective business sectors. Set up to support one of Italy’s most representative production sectors internationally – fine jewelry –, it aims to convey its values of excellence: craftsmanship, craft, style and culture. The Club represents the entire gold jewelry supply chain, from high-end to industrial jewelry production; wholesale and retail distribution; the trade in precious stones, pearls and corals; and the promotion of raw materials (gold, platinum and diamonds).
Established in 1980 by five founding members, above all to protect production aspects, it has continued to promote business culture over the years through an intense program of meetings aimed at monitoring the evolution of the gold jewelry market, changing tastes of consumers and what motivates them to buy jewelry, and the variables that contribute to perpetuating jewelry’s legendary appeal. It works in four main areas: Research – Training – Information – Networking. Over the years, the Club has become a catalyst for growth in the sector and represents the most reliable source of information on trends in the Italian gold jewelry industry.
For further information
Club degli Orafi Italia – + 39 366 8789555 – info@clubdegliorafi.org – http://www.clubdegliorafi.org
Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale – http://www.esteri.it
ICE Agenzia – http://www.ice.it
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