l r y b y A r e t i s e w t UnfetteredUnfettered J s By cecily motley “Just extraordinary— More than FiFty years aFter this ringing en- American Jeff Koons (1955–) worked as Alexander Calder (1898– dorsement by scholar Graham hughes in 1961, artist- a Wall Street commodities broker before 1976) made this untitled made jewelry remains a relatively unknown corner of embarking on his career as an artist. brooch in the form of a unfettered imagination, Following the example of pop artists of spiral—a recurring motif the art world. While the list of sculptors and painters the 1960s, he uses his work to reflect the in his work—in 1940 who made jewelry reads like a curator’s wish list—Pablo wild exuberance … commercial systems of the modern world. from a single length of Picasso, Georges Braque, salvador Dalí, Lucio Fontana, His Rabbit necklace of 2005–2009, in brass wire hammered Max ernst, Jean (hans) arp, alexander Calder, Louise platinum, was made in an edition of fifty. and twisted into shape. and great names” Bourgeois, anish Kapoor, niki de saint Phalle, Claude Height 2 inches. Length 6 ¼ inches. imaginationimagination Anish Kapoor (1954–), Lalanne, alberto Giacometti—for many, their one of the most in- jewelry re mains a revelation. and this despite fluential sculptors of his max ernst (1891–1976) the fact that in the past half-century major mu- generation, creates work began to study philosophy seums have held exhibitions of this work, start- that ranges vastly in at the University of Bonn ing with the International Exhibition of Modern scale, from huge to small in 1909, but became Jewelry 1890–1961 at Goldsmiths’ hall in Lon- pieces of jewelry, such as increasingly preoccupied don in 1961, which included the most compre- Water pendant, Form I, with painting; self-taught, he Large, designed in 2013 hensive collection of artist-made jewels ever was influenced by van Gogh and produced in 22-karat and August macke. His Groin assembled to that time. numerous artists were gold and cold enamel pendant was fabricated in invited to create work for the show, which in- in an edition of five 23-karat gold by François cluded examples by Dalí, emil nolde, Calder, plus two artist’s proofs. Hugo in an edition of six. and Giacometti as well as by such contem- diameter 2 ⅞ inches diameter 4 inches. German-born porary British artists as elizabeth Frink and meret oppenheim Kenneth armitage. a decade later, in 1973, (1913–1985) was a the institute of Contemporary art in Boston surrealist artist whose Tête showed a selection of artists’ jewels in Jew- de Poète (Head of the Poet) elry as Sculpture as Jewelry, followed in 1984 necklace, 1977, was made in by Modern Artists’ Jewels at the Victoria and an edition of nine in 18-karat gold and enamel after her 1967 Le Rond pendant, no. 1344, albert Museum. Most recently, in 2011 Diane design. each is signed and numbered designed by Pablo Picasso (1881– Venet organized Picasso to Koons: Artist as on the reverse. Face: 3 ⅞ by 3 ⅜ inches. 1973), was made in 23-karat gold Jeweler with the Museum of arts and Design by Hugo in an edition of twenty. in new york, and it has since traveled to eu- each is signed, numbered, and stamped with the maker’s mark. rope and asia. diameter 2 inches. a decade ago, when Louisa Guinness opened her London gallery specializing in artists’ jew- elry, dealers were few and far between. Pieces were rarely seen on the secondary market, and those that were could be picked up for a song— an alexander Calder necklace for a few thou- sand dollars, a Picasso pendant for the price jewelry sales, the price tags for these works of its weight in gold. apart from those whom in precious metals by the harbingers of mod- Guinness invited to participate in her inau- ernism are but a fraction of those attached to gural exhibition, Past and Present: Jew- their canvases or bronzes. ellery by Artists in 2003, few contem- Jewelry is a deeply personal manifestation porary artists were making jewelry. of an artist’s work. Diane Venet’s collection skip forward a decade, and the (which formed the basis of Picasso to Koons) market tells a different story. began with a wedding ring her husband, sculp- Wearable sculpture has become tor Bernar Venet, spontaneously fashioned for a new and accessible way of col- her from a length of silver. amidst the Picas- lecting and enjoying art. at so- so paintings and sculptures at the sale of Dora theby’s new york in november Maar’s estate in 1997 nestled painted pebble 2013 eighteen pieces of Calder jew- pendants and lockets enclosing tiny paintings elry in the hope Makler collection— the artist had crafted for his lover. yves tan- made in 1971 from a pieces for the most part made of brass or guy painted a pair of earrings for his inamora- 1944 design, the oculist silver, occasionally including found ceramic ta Peggy Guggenheim. alexander Calder made brooch/pendant designed or glass—brought $8,046,500. one necklace jewelry for his wife, Louisa, throughout his ca- by man Ray (1890–1976) alone reached nearly $2 million. reer. indeed, his first gift to her was a bracelet was fabricated by Gem Prices for examples by other artists, such he hammered from a continuous brass wire montebello in an edition of twelve. made of green Chapeau de Papillon as Picasso, Man ray, ernst, Fontana, and La- spelling out the word “Medusa,” a reference to and red 18-karat gold and (Butterfly hat) is a playful lanne, are likewise steadily rising. still, while her wild hair when they first met. malachite, each is signed and example of jewelry by Claude “artists Jewels” now have their own section over the course of the twentieth century, stamped with the maker’s Lalanne (1924–), who made it in in design auctions and contemporary art or the hierarchy that placed “decorative arts” mark. Width 4 ⅜ inches. 2004 of galvanized copper and bronze. Approximate width 11 ¾ inches. 74 m o d e R n winter 2015 m o d e R n 75 low in the “serious art” pile, and “craft” low- arp among them. Perhaps his most extensive Facing page, clockwise from top left: er still, began to erode. Calder rejected such collaboration was with Picasso, for whom he Pol Bury (1922–2005) was a Belgian kinetic hierarchies. in a 1929 exhibition at the Fifty- created medallions, in addition to a series of artist, painter, and filmmaker. When worn, sixth street Galleries in new york, his toys platters and dishes. Working in italy a decade the multitude of 18-karat gold spheres on and jewelry were presented as equal to his later, jeweler GianCarlo Montebello, who was his Boules des deux Côtés d’un Cylindre sculpture and painting. as a metalworker he married to the sister of sculptors arnaldo and bracelet of 1968 are in constant motion. created some eighteen hundred pieces of jew- Gio Pomodoro, also invited artists to design It was made in an edition of twenty-five by Italian jeweler GEM montebello, elry in his lifetime, each one unique. he would jewelry, which he produced in limited edi- each signed by Bury and stamped with hammer and twist silver or brass wire into tions at GeM Montebello, the firm he started maker’s mark. diameter 2 ⅞ inches. pieces that, unlike other jewelry of the time, in Milan in 1967. sadly, the venture was closed were valued for their artistic rather than their only a decade later when the workshop was This 1948 silver necklace by Calder references his interest in African jewelry. material content. Working some years later, burgled in 1978. Montebello was responsible Typical of an artist known for his mobiles, French artist Claude Lalanne, who likewise for some of the most imaginative examples each silver bar moves— the mechanism made jewelry throughout her career, took a of the genre, and the list of artists he worked holding them together created only with similar attitude to hierarchy in the arts. her with is impressive: Lucio Fontana, Man ray, twisted lengths of wire. 9 ¾ by 14 ¾ inches. first exhibition at Galerie J in Paris in 1964 in- and niki de saint Phalle, to name a few. the mariko mori (1967–) is widely regarded as cluded wearable sculpture alongside surreal famous photographer Ugo Mulas was so taken one of the most important artists to emerge and whimsical large-scale works. Displayed with Montebello’s creations that he offered to from Japan in the past fifty years. Her next to a life-size rhino that metamorphosed photograph them in exchange for a few pieces Planets brooch, 2013, made in an edition of into a fully functional desk (Rhinocretaire) by for his wife. ten, is fashioned of 18-karat white gold with her husband were her golden belts made from nowhere are artwork and viewer more close- South Sea pearls, Akoya pearls, a broken vine shoots and grapes and necklaces featur- ly entwined than in artists’ jewelry. happily, a glass bead, aurora beads, and crystal. diameter 2 ¾ inches. ing metallic human lips. Lalanne perfected the growing number of dealers and the inclusion arts of electroplating and molding for both her of these works in art fairs and auctions and in These bracelets designed by Italian Lucio jewelry and her sculpture. Using this meth- exhibitions such as Diane Venet’s Picasso to Fontana (1899–1968) echo his artistic od, she would transform flora and fauna into Koons are heightening awareness of these ex- concept of “spatialism.” designed in 1967, with GEM montebello, the bracelets are delicate copper fossils that she would weave pressions of artistic imagination and of the in- of lacquer mounted in silver.