Friday 31 August 2012

Artists' jewellery





Artists' Jewellery, at the Benaki Museum on Vasillissis Sofias

Nearly 200 pieces of jewellery designed by some of the greatest artists of the second part of the 20th century as well as the 21st.





Such delight!





Stephen Antonakos, Four Incomplete Circles, Two Incomplete Circles, 1991 - brooch (silver, gold, enamel)





Alekos Fasianos, Bird - necklace, 1999 (gold)





Jean Cocteau, Profile, 1970 - brooch (silver)





Jean Arp, Tete, Bouteille et Moustache, 1970 - necklace (silver)






Anthony Caro - pendant, 2008 (silver)





Georges Braque, Asteria, 1963, Hera, 1960, Circe, 1962 - brooches





Looking at Hera more closely (gold, diamonds, sapphires)





and at Circe, (gold, diamonds)





Six brooches by Picasso, 1956-1973





One more brooch by Picasso





Gottfried Honegger -  pendant, 1998 (silver)





Louise Bourgeois -  pendant, 1998 (silver, crystals)





Takis, 1970 - necklace, (gold, magnetic beads)





Man Ray -  earrings, 1970 (gold)





Man Ray, Optic Topic, 1974 - Mask, (gold)





Niki de Saint Phalle, Visage -  Necklace (gold, enamel)





Nikki de Saint Phalle, Nana Ange -  brooch (enamel)





Dorothea Tanning, Miss Octopus, 1966 - brooch, (gold)





Meret Oppenheim, Tete de Poete, 1967 - necklace (gold, enamel)





Max Ernst, Tete Triangle, 1976 - brooch (gold)





Magdalena Abakonowicz, Cast of Her Own Hand - Necklace, 2012, (aluminium)





Yayoi Kusama - Necklace, (wool)






Grayson Perry, Doll Pendant, 2008, (silver, cotton)






Sam Taylorwood, Tear Catcher - ring, 2003






Anish Kapoor, Water Ring, 2003 (gold, enamel)





Jaume Plensa, One Thought Fills Immensity - necklace, 2010





Anthony Gormley - Necklace, 2003 (steel)








4 comments:

  1. There are some exceptionally lovely pieces in this exhibition. Were they made to be worn? Who could afford them! Not the likes of us certainly.

    I went over to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park today for a day out. While I was in their shop I spotted a book on artist's jewellery and having seen your post had a quick flick through it - a number of the pieces featured in your post were included in the book.

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    1. Yes Mick, they were made to be worn! Unbelievable, but true.

      There was no booklet on the exhibition but the write up on the wall outside the exhibition room said that most of it is part of the curator Diane Venet's personal collection!!! The mind boggles.

      There were some gorgeous pieces that I was not able to include in my post: the exhibition room was dark, everything was behind glass, and some of the photographs did not come out well, so I did not include them. The Roy Lichtenstein brooch for instance was my favourite (and so like his other work!) but the photograph was all blurry. I am tempted to go back and try taking some more photographs with flash.

      The whole exhibition was a real pleasure. What a coincidence that you should find a book that included some of the pieces!

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  2. The juxtaposition of exquisite art and the horrors of modern Greece makes the whole situation even more surreal.

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    1. Absolutely, Avril. I could not begin to describe what it is like living in this situation - it is totally schizophrenic, a world of haves and have nots, of contrasts that are so extreme....

      The question is: how is it all going to evolve?

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