All posts by La Joaillerie

IN CONVERSATION WITH SERENA HOLM

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Jul
07

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

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Jun
28

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 […]

A TOOL-PORTRAIT : JO POND

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Sep
27

Throughout the duration of our current exhibition “Holy Tools!“, the blog of LA Joaillerie invites you to discover the artists participating in the exhibition. Through a tool-Portrait, discover their considerations on tools, their views on crafts and handmaking. Born in Chiswick, London, Jo Pond is a British art jeweller. After discovering jewellery making at the Berkshire and Loughborough Colleges of Art & Design, she established her design process some years later during her Masters at the School of Jewellery, Birmingham. Today she lives and works in Staffordshire, where, alongside her practice as a studio jeweler, she is employed as a lecturer at the School of Jewellery. – If you were a tool ? If I were a tool, I’d want to be comfortable, well-designed, possibly have multiple functions, I’d want to be  indispensable. – If you were a gesture ? If I were a gesture I’d be subtle, a smile, an infectious one! – What is your first or most significant memory related to tools ? As a child my parents bought me a stone tumbler. We would collect pebbles from the shore and tumble them for weeks on end, patiently working through the polishing grades. Eventually, the contents would be ready, polished […]

A TOOL-PORTRAIT : CARLA GARCIA DURLAN

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Sep
27

Throughout the duration of our current exhibition “Holy Tools!“, the blog of LA Joaillerie invites you to discover the artists participating in the exhibition. Through a tool-Portrait, discover their considerations on tools, their views on crafts and handmaking. Carla Garcia Durlan ’s graphic design degree wasn’t enough so this, combined with the need to work with her hands and exploit her creativity makes her capable of overcoming any artistic obstacle that she comes across. Versatile and fearless, she allows the colourful brushstrokes to clash in her pieces and paintings, revealing boldness and spontaneity that characterises her. A set of coincidences is how she makes jewellery and discovers this world that allows her to unite illustration and painting with new materials, using everything available on her table to invent new techniques and convey her message. – If you were a tool ? I would be a brush. This tool connects me directly to my emotions. I would rather be a large brush, a large brush that leaves a spontaneous and imperfect trace. – If you were a gesture ? I would be a brushstroke , a quick and spontaneous stroke. Nevertheless, these strokes are often thoughtful, or stemming from a long-considered […]

A TOOL-PORTRAIT : MARIA DIEZ SERRAT

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Sep
23

Throughout the duration of our current exhibition “Holy Tools!“, the blog of LA Joaillerie invites you to discover the artists participating in the exhibition. Through a tool-Portrait, discover their considerations on tools, their views on crafts and handmaking. An architect, Maria Diez Serrat feels a certain frustration not being able to portray exactly what she was projecting in her work. Therefore, she discovered jewellery, where her hands speak for her, where the spontaneous movements represent her thoughts. A balance is what she is searching for, both in her personal and artistic sides of life. She combines responsibility with fun, while on her path to self-fulfilment, and with a lot of generosity. Her compositions reflect an eagerness to find the harmony in contradictory ideas: chaos and order, light and darkness, the abstract world and figurative world. – If you were a tool ? Obviously I would not be a measuring tool, because I am not a perfectionist. I identify with the hammer for its ability to transform metal very quickly. I often act impulsively and thus want to make quick decisions. – If you were a gesture ? I would be a quick gesture and made under the influence of the […]

A TOOL-PORTRAIT : CLARA NIUBÒ

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Sep
23

Throughout the duration of our current exhibition “Holy Tools!“, the blog of LA Joaillerie invites you to discover the artists participating in the exhibition. Through a tool-Portrait, discover their considerations on tools, their views on crafts and handmaking.  Clara Niubò’s experience in product design has taught her that perfection and functionality have to be in every creation. As well as this, her watercolours introduce herself in worlds of brightly coloured stains. A lover of the present moment, she is guided by being in the now as it won’t ever be repeated. So she moves about in this paradise of colour combining the best that the proven disciplines offer and her way of understanding life. Positivity and happiness, colour and adventurous courage are characteristics that come through in her work and can be seen in herself too. – If you were a tool ? I would be a saw, simply because it does allow any turning back. It’s immediate and you can only look forward. You can plan and think before sawing, but you can also be spontaneous. What attracts me to the saw is that at the precise moment when you act, you’re in the «here and now». – If […]

A TOOL-PORTRAIT : SANDRA LLUSÀ

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Sep
23

Throughout the duration of our current exhibition “Holy Tools!“, the blog of LA Joaillerie invites you to discover the artists participating in the exhibition. Through a tool-Portrait, discover their considerations on tools, their views on crafts and handmaking. A philosophy student, Sandra Llusà made a career change looking for something that made her happy. A graduate of sculpture and artistic jewellery, she has found a place where her thoughts and feelings join together so that she can show them to others. She emphasizes the details of words and observes things that people don’t see. She protects them, she expands them, she admires them, the same as the small things that give life. She reflects on the small steps given and it is not surprising that her pieces represent this way of being.   – If you were a tool ? If I were a tool, I would be the pliers. I would be the delicate pliers that turn into a precise extension of my fingers. Pliers usually go unnoticed, it is a silent tool, discreet and indispensable. – If you were a gesture ? I would be the gesture of removing the slight burrs of the metal with a very small […]

A TOOL-PORTRAIT : Xavier Monclús

Sep
23

Throughout the duration of our current exhibition “Holy Tools!“, the blog of LA Joaillerie invites you to discover the artists participating in the exhibition. Through a tool-Portrait, discover their considerations on tools, their views on crafts and handmaking. Born in Barcelona in 1966, Xavier Monclús is an art jeweller. Soon after his studies at the Massana School in Barcelona, his work has been presented in galleries and museums in Europe, United States, Canada and Japan. Since 2013, he lives and works in Maó, Menorca island, Spain.   – If you were a tool ? If I were a tool, I would ask to have a soul and be able to rest a little from time to time – If you were a gesture ? If I were a gesture I would like to be precise, elegant and wise. – What is your first or most significant memory related to tools ? When I was a kid and my grandmother gave me some of my grandfather’s tools watchmaker . I still keep them and some use them in my workshop. – Which is your favorite tool and why ? I think the hammer. It has a very attractive shape and is […]

A TOOL-PORTRAIT : FABRIZIO TRIDENTI

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Sep
22

Throughout the duration of our current exhibition “Holy Tools!“, the blog of LA Joaillerie invites you to discover the artists participating in the exhibition. Through a tool-Portrait, discover their considerations on tools, their views on crafts and handmaking. Born in 1962 à San Giovanni Teatino, Fabrizio Tridenti is an Italian art jeweller. After graduating in 1982 from Istituto Statale d’Arte, Penne, he spent a few years as an apprentice in a couple of reknown workshops, before establishing his studio in 1993 in Pescara. Today he lives and works in Vasto.       – If you were a tool ? I want to be loved by my master. – If you were a gesture ? I want to be empty. – What is yout first or most significant memory related to tools ? My first memory of tools coincides with my first day at the art school where I had the occasion to observe all the tools on the workbench and there I saw my future. – Which is your favorite tool and why ? No one in particular because I always thought they were all interdependent for the good result of a work. – Why did you choose working […]

A TOOL-PORTRAIT : GABI VEIT

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Sep
22

Throughout the duration of our current exhibition “Holy Tools!“, the blog of LA Joaillerie invites you to discover the artists participating in the exhibition. Through a tool-Portrait, discover their considerations on tools, their views on crafts and handmaking. Born in 1968 in Bolzano, Italy, Gabi Veit is a spoon maker, art-jeweller and graphic designer based in South Tyrol and Switzerland. After studying graphic design in Innsbruck and Venice, she founded her own studio in 1994. She then graduated in jewellery design from the Alchimia School in Florence, in 2011.     – If you were a tool ? A spoon – If you were a gesture ? A wink – What is your first or most significant memory related to tools ? The tools for eating were always important for me and the tools for cooking. I remember me as a child in the garden with pots and spoons playing cooking with green tomatoes. – Which is your favorite tool and why ? My hands, because they are always there for use and they are so versatile. – Why did you choose working with your hands (and brain!) and what does it provide you ? I like to work with […]