Jewellery becomes miniature sculptures in the hands of New York based-brand Agmes, which translates the fluid lines epitomised by artists such as Barbara Hepworth, Ellsworth Kelly and Man Ray into sculptural jewellery design.
The brand, founded in 2016 by jewellery designers and sisters Morgan and Jaclyn Solomon, has unveiled its 12 collection in collaboration with Brooklyn-based sculptor Simone Bodmer-Turner. Curved forms in silver and gold, dotted with freshwater pearls here and glittering semi-precious stones there, give way to negative space for pieces both clean and uncluttered.
The new collection twists whorls of silver into brooches and dangles pearls from coiled golden pretzels. A focus on hoop earrings rethinks the simple circle, elongating their form into wavy loops or tangling them with other shapes in a sensual texture clash. In the ‘Bubble’ hoops, the circle itself becomes distorted into voluminous twists of metal kissing the earlobe. With their unconventional aesthetic, they join other Agmes hoops in a play with proportions, drawing the curve of the hoop in thickly defined sterling silver or gold vermeil for a sensual statement.
Inspirations range from the architectural to the artistic. ‘For the mini “Laila” hoops, we were inspired by a sculpture with a torqued, Möbius-like shape, so the hoops take on an abstract twisted form, appearing different from every angle. These earrings were inspired by a sculpture by Swiss artist Max Bill, and named for the beautiful and ever talented Laila Gohar, a muse of ours whom we shot for our lookbook,’ the sisters say.
Comfort and wearability take precedence: ‘Although they may appear chunky, they’re extremely lightweight, to the point where we forget we’re wearing them,’ they add. ‘High quality materials are very important to us, as we’re interested in making jewellery that will last lifetimes. Good jewellery must make you feel good when you wear it and also be comfortable – it should feel like an extension of yourself.’
INFORMATION
agmesnyc.com
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