Jewellery designers and artists often share a love of colour, form and materials that make them natural partners. In this edit of sculptural jewellery designs, rings, bracelets and necklaces take inspiration from everything from classical Greek works to the humble potato, crafted in ceramic or drawn in thickly textured gold for miniature artworks to adorn the body.
Eudon Choi
Eudon Choi translates his elegant aesthetic into homeware and jewellery in his collaboration with Lewes-based ceramicists Liv & Dom. The collection of bowls and jewellery paint dreamy scenes in summery hues, and include ceramic earrings with swirls of colour. ‘The marbling process is something that gives an element of surprise to the sometimes meticulous process of making on a small scale,’ Liv & Dom explain. ‘We started by tinting stonewares with stains to achieve muted neutral tones with very subtle colour. Next, we stack these clays in different thicknesses, squash them firmly together and then use the ceramic technique of wedging to mix the clays. We slice carefully through the clay to reveal the cross section of marbling, sometimes repeating the wedging process and slicing again to achieve a finer pattern. These cross sections are rolled out, ripped into pieces and moulded by hand to create the shell shapes. A gloss glaze is added to the interior to further the shell-like appearance and add a pop of block colour.’ The hypnotic results are the perfect pieces for summer and beyond.
Deborah Blyth
British jeweller Deborah Blyth has collaborated with French artist Laëtitia Rouget for a collection, Wobbly Bits, which celebrates the female form. Combining Blyth’s signature textured gold with Rouget’s sensual forms, the earrings, necklaces and cord charm bracelets offer a playful take on body positivity.
Motley
London-based jeweller Motley’s collaborations with artists result in sculptural and surprising pieces, and this latest partnership is no different. Art, Interrupted, created with artist-jeweller Chus Burés, takes its inspiration from Burés’ Potatoes jewellery collection, launched two decades ago. In the Spaniard’s hands, the potato is drawn in gold vermeil and sterling silver for fluid jewellery that elevates the humble food far above the everyday.
Love For Both Of Us
Brooklyn-based brand Love For Both Of Us has created a collection with artist Mark Flood, inspired by his 1988 bronze sculptures, Venus and Discobolus. The pendants, cast in bronze, look back to Flood’s earlier works; distorting the traditional silhouette, they subvert and play with our ideas of beauty. ‘The artists I collaborate with create work that is not always easy to look at and discuss – but it is work that I always come back to,’ says Love For Both Of Us founder Holly Brown Lazzarini. ‘Migrating the forms of their practice into jewellery is a way to create a style out of their visual language. Flood is probably better known for his paintings, but he is a sculptor of great ability. It was an opportunity for me to showcase work that he is less known for, and to discuss an idea that re-emerges: monstrosity. Flood’s sculptures Venus and Discobolus are distorted versions of classical Greek statues, historical artifacts that we value for their perfection and beauty.’
Judith Ripka
‘As with architecture, jewellery emphasises values of aesthetic and visual culture,’ says architect Elena Manferdini, who has collaborated with jewellery brand Judith Ripka. Working on a smaller scale and thinking of the body as a site was not without its challenges: ‘It's not a plane (as it often is in architecture) but a complex shape in constant motion. So jewellery needs to interface with a much more articulated context. It doesn't have a fixed orientation as architecture does, but needs to find a form in all directions and viewing positions.’ The resulting pieces are graphic forms that curve around the wrist or earlobe for strong statement jewellery. ‘Architecture and jewellery share an overlap,’ Manferdini adds. ‘Both fields display a passion for geometrical rhythm, express form-making and detailing, and value aesthetics and material. This collection started with a series of fluid lines sketched on paper, followed by digital forms that would create unexpected adornments for hands, wrists, and neckline.’
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