IN CONVERSATION WITH PETER MACHATA
The covid-19 epidemic is already causing major troubles for all of us. For the gallery, this means, among other things, a violent stop of our programmation. In April 2020, we were to host the exhibition “Simple Stories”, introducing the works of artists Jana Machatova and Peter Machata. Since we are unable to show their work in the context of the gallery, we are offering you the opportunity to discover their work through an online exhibition and interviews. Although Jana and Peter are partners in life, they work separately. For this reason, both interviews are published independly. Stay tuned and home! LA Joaillerie : In Bratislava, you were a student of one of the most important Slovakian sculptors, professor Jozef Jankovič. Did it influence your practice and if yes, how ? Peter Machata : I studied sculpture which taught me how to work with space and to connect my works with ideas. I think about jewelry in the same way and I base their creation on similar postulates. Jankovič never tried to insist on us to work with sculpture, he taught us to select the most suitable medium for what we wanted to say. LA Joaillerie : What drove you to […]
IN CONVERSATION WITH JANA MACHATOVA
The covid-19 epidemic is already causing major troubles for all of us. For the gallery, this means, among other things, a violent stop of our programmation. In April 2020, we were to host the exhibition “Simple Stories”, introducing the works of artists Jana Machatova and Peter Machata. Since we are unable to show their work in the context of the gallery, we are offering you the opportunity to discover their work through an online exhibition and interviews. Although Jana and Peter are partners in life, they work separately. For this reason, both interviews are published independly. Stay tuned and home! LA Joaillerie : You were a student of Anton Cepka in Bratislava, one of the most important international art jewelry masters. Did this influence your practice and if yes, how? Jana Machatova : Cepka was an important artistic role model for me and an authority in his field. I always liked the unambiguity of his artistic expression. He showed me how to look for poetry in everydayness. I don’t deny that I was significantly influenced by his visual expression during my studies until I found my own way. Anton Cepka is a type of introvert who expresses himself through his […]
IN CONVERSATION WITH SERENA HOLM
Invited to participate in the collective exhibition “Sign of the Times”, Serena Holm is one of our guests whose favorite genre is narrative jewelry. Her baroque and complex works never fail to raise questions among visitors, so we wanted to know a little more about her approach and the reasons that led her to choose two of the thorniest paths when it comes to dealing with contemporary art jewelry: narrative genre and precious materials. > You were born and raised in Italy. Then you decided to move to Sweden to complete your training as a jeweler. What led you to choose Sweden, when Italy has such an incredible history and great schools, when it comes to jewelry making ? I lived in the south of Italy and although there are many manufacturers of gold and silver jewellery it was hard to find a place where to do apprenticeship. When I tried to do that I had just finished upper secondary school and was then too old and had the wrong gender. Traditionally goldsmiths accept only young guys as trainees in their companies. So instead I decided then to move to Bologna and study art history. > You studied […]
IN CONVERSATION WITH JO POND
We first discovered the brand new body of work created by British artist Jo Pond last January during a visit to Vittoria Street Gallery in Birmingham. Entitled “Rationed”, this earnest exhibition is now on show at the gallery (until July 14). It was conceived by Jo Pond as a means to pay tribute to all anonymous women and mothers who, during the Blitz period which started in 1940, nevertheless managed to maintain their family unit. Following the tempo of excerpts from her grandmother’s diaries, Jo Pond composed a series of objects according to a method that is now her signature, consisting in laser cutting recycled tin boxes. Old leathers, tokens, kitchen utensils and many other objects, all dated from this period, complete the raw material of a story, both intimate and universal … > How did you come up with the idea of the “Rationed” series ? I usually find that having an emotional connection with my subject matter leads me to make the most successful outcomes. “Rationed” stemmed from reading through the diaries of my grandmother. I realised that she had documented the air-raids during the Blitz in London and I was able to research the dates and times which […]