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From Picasso, Yves Klein and Alexander Calder to Andy Warhol, Anish Kapoor and Antony Gormley, artists have extended their art to making jewelry.
It is a little known fact that some modern and contemporary artists have turned their hand to jewelry. Diane Venet, the wife of the French sculptor Bernar Venet, discusses her exhibition on this theme.
The jewelry made by artists is an extension of their body of work and can be described as sculptural yet wearable art. It is a world apart from that of fine, classical jewelry. Rather than being about precious stones, artists' jewelry is another expression of their visual language, whether that means a gold spider brooch by Louise Bourgeois or an "Imagine Peace" gold ring by Yoko Ono. Diane Venet, who has a wonderful collection of artists' jewelry, is an expert on this subject. Her exhibition at La Piscine in Roubaix in northern France brings together 175 jewelry pieces by 83 artists.
How did you become interested in artists' jewelry?
When my husband made his first ring for me 20 years ago. I remember him rolling a thin piece of silver around my finger to make a wedding ring. Each time he starts to develop a new idea for his sculptures, he makes a piece of jewelry – either a ring, a bracelet or a brooch – for me that corresponds to his idea. My husband's main theme is the line, and he's made jewelry objects in straight, angled, arched and indeterminate lines.
And then how did you begin collecting jewelry by other artists?
For my Christmas and birthday presents, my husband started asking his artist friends, like Arman and César, to make a piece of jewelry for me. That's how my passion developed. Then I met collectors and became fascinated by the subject. I enlarged my collection through acquiring pieces by Picasso, Max Ernst and Lucío Fontana, and began asking artists that had never made a piece of jewelry before to make some for me. John Chamberlain and Robert Rauschenberg both made some, as has the young French-Algerian artist Kader Attia. Since this is the world of my husband, I meet artists very often. Frank Stella is making a piece for me, and Joel Shapiro is thinking about making one too.
How did the idea for the exhibition come about?
My idea stemmed from realizing that people are fairly unfamiliar with artists' jewelry. It's another aspect of an artist's work, and is completely different from jewelry made by a goldsmith or a designer. It's a very intimate part of an artist's creation and is about an artist that might normally paint or sculpt finding other ways to express emotion. The preciousness of the materials used is unimportant. Picasso made some jewelry in gold; others have made objects in enamel or steel. The starting-point is not about making money. Similarly, I don't attach any importance to diamonds. Artists' jewelry is extremely personal and much more private. For example, the only two pieces that Sol LeWitt made were for each of his daughters.
How long did it take to produce the show?
I thought about curating it three years ago when I realized that I had enough works to present. The show took two years to produce, and my plan is to circulate it to other museums over the next few years. While the theme will remain the same, the exhibition will be different each time. Some collectors who loaned me works for this show might not wish to loan them again, while some of the dealers have sold some of their pieces. New collectors are now in touch with me too.
How many of the 175 pieces in the exhibition belong to you?
About a quarter. I also worked with a German collector called Diana Küppers, who lent me works by George Braque, Picasso, Ernst, Fontana, Hans Arp, and Niki de Saint Phalle. The collector and dealer Louisa Guinness in London, who has jewelry pieces by English artist like Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley, Michael Craig-Martin, Gavin Turk and Sam Taylor-Wood, also loaned some works, as did the Italian collector and dealer Marina Filippini. Natalie Seroussi, an important collector in Paris, lent me the beautiful Calders in the show among other important pieces. I tried to only have unique objects in the exhibition rather than editions. The children of artists that have passed away helped me too.
Were there any artists that you approached that weren't interested in making pieces of jewelry?
I only approached artists that I already knew if I thought the idea would interest them. I wrote to Jasper Johns, because I knew that he had made a ring for himself, and asked if he'd lend it to me. He replied very politely that he didn't want to lend it for an exhibition.
How have visitors reacted to your exhibition?
Many of them were really surprised because they weren't aware of artists making jewelry like this. It's not something that is well known. In contrast to how a piece of jewelry by a jeweler is very classical, an artist thinks of the person that he or she is making it for. An artist's jewelry bears a close relationship to their art and visual language, and their personality reveals itself through their work. There's always an echo with what they create. My aim was to make this very private aspect of their oeuvre better known.
Do you select to wear specific pieces according to the occasion and to match them with your outfit?
No, I only decide which piece I'll wear according to the place where I'm going. If I'm going to the gallery opening by a certain artist, I'll wear a piece of jewelry by them. If it's my husband's opening, then I'll wear a ring that he has made me – but not three together! But it depends. If it's a very relaxed party, I won't wear anything precious. If the event is more selective, I might wear a bracelet by Fontana. I only wear the Picassos rarely because I don't like to look as if I'm showing off. I'm more likely to wear a piece by Rauschenberg because only those in the know would recognize it. But wearing them is not an obsession or the most important thing. I like looking at them at home and having them in front of my eyes.
If you could only keep five of them, which would they be?
A piece by my husband, something from César and Arman, who were great friends, the white gold, handcuff ring by Attia, because it's very personal, and then certainly my brooch by Chamberain or my jewels by Annabelle d'Huart and Gottfried Honegger who are also great friends whose jewelry I love wearing.
Which contemporary artists would you like to make a piece of jewelry for you?
I would love to ask Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst, but I think it might be impossible. I asked Wim Delvoye, and he said neither yes nor no. I really enjoyed Loris Gréaud's exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo, but if I asked him he might reply that he'd never want to make a piece of jewelry... Who knows? Not all artists find the idea interesting. For others, it's a challenging and fun, and they recognize that it's in relationship to their art.
If you had an imaginary museum, how would you conceive it?
I'd have a big space with several rooms, and I'd mix artists' jewelry with their paintings and sculpture to create a dialogue with the larger body of their work. I regret that Matisse, Miró and Giacometti didn't make any jewelry. I would also want to include some pieces by the late French sculptor, Henri Laurens, who did make some pieces of jewelry but I haven't been able to get hold of any yet. I'd love to find some for my next exhibition.
What is your definition of luxury?
For me, luxury is neither splendor nor abundance, but the chance to be able to live moments of profound emotion in front of a landscape, a person or an object.
If luxury were:
An object:
The letters of the word freedom.
A moment:
The seconds when the sun disappears in the Pacific with a mojito in my hand.
A person:
The ancient Greek philosoper Diogene, who didn't need anything at all to be satisfied, only his barrel. No mobile phone, no Internet, no money.
A place:
The island of Spitzbergen in Norway, out of season.
"Bijoux sculptures: l'art vous va si bien" is at La Piscine in Roubaix, northern France, from March 1 through May 25, 2008. Tel. + 33 (0)3 20 69 23 67. www.roubaix-lapiscine.com
"Alexander Calder Jewelry" is at Norton Museum of Art in Florida from February 23 through June 15, 2008. Tel. +1 561 832 5196. www.norton.org
Calder made more than 1,800 jewelry objects, around 100 of which are on display in this exhibition. It is the first show devoted exclusively to his jewelry and includes necklaces, bracelets, brooches, earrings and tiaras.
For more information:
http://www.amazon.fr/s/ref=nb_ss_w/402-3988147-4880966?__mk_fr_FR=%C5M%C5Z%D5%D1&url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=diane+venet&Go.x=9&Go.y=15&Go=Go
http://www.gallimard.fr/catalog/html/actu/index/index_bijouxsculp.html
http://www.amazon.com/Calder-Jewelry-Mark-Rosenthal/dp/0300134282/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211276652&sr=1-1