Grant continues her mission to dismantle the boundaries between art and jewellery.
the first-ever selling exhibition from melanie grant and the elisabetta cipriani gallery, launching on 18th november during a special evening with our friends from serpentine galleries.
grant continues her mission to dismantle the boundaries between art and jewellery by inviting 18 renowned contemporary artists to express their connection to nature through wearable sculpture.
london, 22nd october 2021 – continuing on from her book coveted: art and innovation in high jewelry, the first modern jewellery book published by phaidon where she asked the question can jewellery be art? to brilliant & black: a jewelry renaissance, the first-ever exhibition of it’s kind dedicated to black jewellery designers staged at sotheby’s new york in september 2021 – melanie grant presents a third project force of nature, aimed at further dismantling the remaining hierarchy that separates art and jewellery.
force of nature will feature nearly 40 jewels dedicated to naturalism and the evolution of our relationship with the outside world, created by 18 contemporary artists embracing both figurative and abstract approaches. they are: ai weiwei, bibi van der velden, fabio salini, frank stella, giorgio vigna, giuseppe penone, grima, jacqueline rabun, james de givenchy, john moore, joy bc, liv luttrell, lydia courteille, melanie eddy, melanie grant, satta matturi, ute decker and wallace chan.
the exhibition will launch on the evening of 18th november at a private reception attended by supporters of serpentine galleries and held at the elisabetta cipriani gallery in mayfair – 1st floor, 23 heddon street, london w1b 4bq, the foremost destination for artist jewellery in london. all pieces will be available to purchase by private appointment or over the phone until saturday 27th november. this is the first time many of the artists have offered their art via a gallery including grant who debuts her first jewel.
elisabetta cipriani - owner and founder of the elisabetta cipriani gallery says: “the combination of artists melanie has brought together signifies her determination to break down barriers between jewellery and fine art. it is a mission i share. any artist should be free to work in any discipline and the enormity of nature as inspiration, dwarfs any argument to the contrary.”
melanie grant – writer and curator says: “we have a lot of first’s in this show from a collective cast of creative geniuses being exhibited together working in materials such as tiger eye, carbon fibre, fossilised ammonite, red bronze and anodised aluminium to a vigorous debate on launch night with one of the most important jewellery collectors in the world. thanks to all the artists for their contribution, to elisabetta for hosting this exceptional exhibition and to the serpentine for giving jewellery this level of prominence.”
in chapter four of coveted, grant explores what she calls independent thought and the use of personal experience in nature to create a new way of seeing. everyone at some point has been inspired by nature but few channel this energy successfully into a piece of art. it is perhaps the most democratic and widely understood source of creative inspiration and because of that, finding a unique perspective can be the hardest thing of all.
these artists find innovative and diverse ways to illustrate the human journey, politically in the form of ai weiwei’s ring w addressing his concerns on migration, through abstraction via grima’s casting of a lusciously carved lychee skin and via the built environment as referenced by the faceted sculpture of melanie eddy. as we cautiously emerge back into society, force of nature aims to examine the inner revolution that has changed all our lives and ultimately how we will wear that outwardly in the future.
the exhibition is sponsored by chêne bleu, a sustainable boutique winery from the south of france. www.chenebleu.com
ute decker about her featured articulation neck sculpture
the articulation neck piece is one long loop reaching down to the knees when open. the wearer can than loop and arrange the piece in endless ways. for each wearer and each time the piece will be different and unique. it completely engages with the personality, mood and active participation of the wearer, which makes it such an exciting piece to wear every time, never knowing what could be expected the next time it is worn.
for me this is an allegory on human nature. we are all connected, yet we have many choices how we shape our lives – we are the artists of our life.
about the serpentine
championing new ideas in contemporary art since 1970, the serpentine has presented pioneering exhibitions for half a century from a wide range of emerging practitioners to the most internationally recognised artists of our time.
located in london’s kensington garden’s, the serpentine presents a year-round free programme of exhibitions, architecture, education, live events and technological innovation, in the park and beyond.
about the elisabetta cipriani gallery
elisabetta cipriani has been re-defining the boundaries between fine art and jewellery, capturing the imaginations of collectors across the globe since 2009. she invites contemporary artists, often approaching the realm of jewellery for the first time to experiment and works with them creating a series of prototype sketches which eventually become wearable sculpture. her projects often challenge society to think differently and can be found in musée des arts décoratifs, paris; museum of art and design, new york; world jewellery museum, seoul; and the state hermitage museum, st petersburg.
about melanie grant
melanie grant is an author and curator as well as a journalist working at the economist where she has been for 15 years. she took a sabbatical to write her first book coveted: art and innovation in high jewelry, published in october 2021 and this is the first book dedicated to jewellery by phaidon since 1949. she has hosted talks about the relationship between art and jewellery with the v&a, christies, sotheby’s, the mfa boston and mayfair art weekend. when not curating she writes for vogue, vanity fair, tatler and the goldsmith’s company. she is a guest lecturer at central saint martins as well as a guest crit leader at the royal college of art.
contacts
for further information, interviews and high res images please contact: katie@honestpr.london / 07917 030 387 / gabrielle@elisabettacipriani.com
to make an appointment to view the exhibition please contact: info@elisabettacipriani.com / +44 (0)207 734 2066
