EXPO ‘Pensieri Preziosi 9 : Contemporary Australian Jewellery’ – Oratorio di San Rocco, Padova (Italy) – 30 Nov. 2013 – 23 Fevr. 2014
Pensieri Preziosi 9 : Contemporary Australian Jewellery
Oratorio di San Rocco (Padova, Italy) 30-Nov-2013 – 23-Feb-2014
This exhibition allows visitors to get to know, appreciate and examine highly original works created by eight specially chosen artists who have studied at the most important University of Design on the continent of Australia, under the guidance of Prof. Robert Baines”, notes Andrea Colasio, the Municipal Councillor for Culture. Robert Baines is Emeritus Professor at the RMIT University of Melbourne, and together with Nicholas Bastin, Simon Cottrell, Kirsten Haydon, Linda Hughes, Christopher Milbourne, Nicole Polentas and Katherine Wheeler, they have created an exhibition with about one hundred works that will give the Italian public the chance to get to know and appreciate the styles of Australian research goldsmithing.
The works selected for this exhibition use poor materials alongside precious gold, with original and unusual working techniques that combine tradition and innovation: they are conceptually complicated pieces which aim to express each individual artist’s thoughts, feelings and artistic reflection of both the past and the present.
According to Baines, the “poetry of making” needs a tòpos, a real and metaphorical “place” where you can create jewellery. In this search for the tòpos, the artist identifies and indicates four major areas for his students to focus on in order to design and create contemporary jewellery. The tòpos of the “found object”, namely remnants of industrial materials, discarded objects from everyday life, collected and reused by offering them a new dimension and new life; the tòpos of intimate space, personal and private, one’s own body, the home, individual and subjective memories; the tòpos of public space, streets, exteriors and architecture; and the tòpos of history and culture which is inevitably linked to history and personal thoughts.
Australian contemporary jewellery is mainly conceptual, displaying skilful technical experimentation in its use of materials, with a keen focus on personal and collective history, as well as elegant forms with echoes linked to the past but also to modern daily life. At times this produces abstract, fantastical and poetic results which often have a veil of nostalgic irony.
This conceptual process often leads to interpretations that unwind like true stories, real or surreal tales where the works of art are the main characters within a careful and well-thought-out procedure of research and planning.
The works selected for this exhibition use poor materials alongside precious gold, with original and unusual working techniques that combine tradition and innovation: they are conceptually complicated pieces which aim to express each individual artist’s thoughts, feelings and artistic reflection of both the past and the present.
According to Baines, the “poetry of making” needs a tòpos, a real and metaphorical “place” where you can create jewellery. In this search for the tòpos, the artist identifies and indicates four major areas for his students to focus on in order to design and create contemporary jewellery. The tòpos of the “found object”, namely remnants of industrial materials, discarded objects from everyday life, collected and reused by offering them a new dimension and new life; the tòpos of intimate space, personal and private, one’s own body, the home, individual and subjective memories; the tòpos of public space, streets, exteriors and architecture; and the tòpos of history and culture which is inevitably linked to history and personal thoughts.
Australian contemporary jewellery is mainly conceptual, displaying skilful technical experimentation in its use of materials, with a keen focus on personal and collective history, as well as elegant forms with echoes linked to the past but also to modern daily life. At times this produces abstract, fantastical and poetic results which often have a veil of nostalgic irony.
This conceptual process often leads to interpretations that unwind like true stories, real or surreal tales where the works of art are the main characters within a careful and well-thought-out procedure of research and planning.
Artists: Robert Baines — Nicholas Bastin – Simon Cottrell — Kirsten Haydon — Linda Hughes — Christopher Milbourne — Nicole Polentas — Katherine Wheeler
Robert Baines, Brooch: The Oz Brooch, 2003 – Silver powder coat – 2.0 x 7.5 x 7.5 cm
Broaching it Diplomatically: A Tribute to Madeleine K. Albright. Property of the artist. Photo by Garry Sommerfeld
Broaching it Diplomatically: A Tribute to Madeleine K. Albright. Property of the artist. Photo by Garry Sommerfeld
Simon Cottrell, Brooch: Blobs and white tubes, 2006 – Monel alloy, powdercoat, phosphorescent pigment, stainless steel
4.0 x 7.0 x 6.0 cm – Private collection – Photo by Mark Ashkanasy
4.0 x 7.0 x 6.0 cm – Private collection – Photo by Mark Ashkanasy
Kirsten Haydon, Brooch: Ice valleys, 2009 – Enamel, photo, copper, reflector beads, silver, steel
9.0 x 13.0 x 1.5 cm – Property of the artist – Photo by Jeremy Dillon
9.0 x 13.0 x 1.5 cm – Property of the artist – Photo by Jeremy Dillon
Linda Hughes, Brooch: Nicholas 2 pendant (after Giotto), 2013 - Laminate, wood, silk, silver
9.0 x 7.5 x 1.5 cm – Property of the artist – Photo by Argonaut Design
9.0 x 7.5 x 1.5 cm – Property of the artist – Photo by Argonaut Design
Nicole Polentas, Brooch (brooch ???) : The Dunes of Orthi Ammos and The Drosoulites, 2011 – Sterling silver, coral, paint, photo, plastic, poly-putty, stainless steel – 8.0 x 11.0 x 5.5 cm – Property of the artist - Photo by Jeremy Dillon
Katherine Wheeler - Ring: Flightless, 2013 – Porcelain, fine silver, paper, thread, polyvinyl acetate, paint – 8.5 x 9.5 x 6.0 cm – Property of the artist - Photo by Katherine Wheeler
Christopher Earl Milbourne, Brooch, Trinity Aquarium with Outdoor Exhibit, 2013
Sterling silver, silver alloys, pearl, paint, epoxy resin – 7.0 x 8.0 x 6.0 cm – Property of the artist
Photo by Jeremy Dillon
Sterling silver, silver alloys, pearl, paint, epoxy resin – 7.0 x 8.0 x 6.0 cm – Property of the artist
Photo by Jeremy Dillon
Oratorio di San Rocco
Oratorio di San Rocco
Via S. Lucia
35139 – Padova
Italy
Telephone: 049 820 4527
Via S. Lucia
35139 – Padova
Italy
Telephone: 049 820 4527
website: padovacultura.padovanet.it
mail: serviziomostre@comune.padova.it