Exhibitions/Events NYC. ANDREA CAGNETTI featured in "In Its Time: Materials and Techniques Throughout Jewelry History." The Fashion Institute of Technology & Aaron Faber Gallery. The Curated Object

CHORT - Pendant, Year: 2002, Raw material: gold 900/1000, Dimension: max. diameter 9.4 cm, Author id. mark: 72 VT; 900

TALITHA - Pyx, Year: 1995, Raw material: gold 900/1000, Dimension: diameter 4 cm; height 6 cm. Author id. mark: 72 VT; 900

It was the Pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus who said we never step into the same river twice-- a profound statement about the flux of time and the fluid nature of identity (it is never the same river and you are never the same person). And in the trajectory of those who use the river as a way to think about the depth and meaning of life and the things that surround us we find an unlikely suspect: the Italian goldsmith Andrea Cagnetti, who chose "Akelo" as his artistic name. Referring to this Greek word found near ancient sites where rivers flowed in Italy many moons ago, it's a constant reminder that each of his jewels and objects is a singular expression that evokes images, thoughts and techniques from past and present. 

As his colleague Paolo d' Ambrosio muses, "The peculiarity of Akelo's works seems to be the ability to symbolize a sort of flux, a fluidity that is not rightly characterized as self-referential; this fluidity tends rather to represent the motion of reality in its multiplicity. Here also we find the relevance of the creation of this artist who "gave life" to an original line of precious handmade pieces." This strange temporality is achieved using Greek, Etruscan and Roman goldsmithing techniques exhaustively studied and reimagined for over a decade. Quietly and humbly working from his home in Corchiano, a small town in Tuscany, his most coveted work displays his mastery of a technique called granulation. In his essay on Akelo, Livio Martini explains  "...it's a special art similar to welding--- a technique almost imperceptible to the human eye. Using this method on precious metal leaves, tiny golden granules appear. This is a technique in which the Etruscan artists were masters." 

SCEPTRUM - Sceptre, Year: 1999, Raw material: gold 900/1000, ivory, Dimension: overall length 17.3 cm; max. diameter 2 cm, Author id. mark: 72 VT; 900  

Still, while technical duplication is a difficult and admirable task, Cagnetti's work asks more of those who behold it - and of himself. Martini describes the artist's special version of this technique as  "...a particular application of what's known as the silhouette or dust technique which allows Akelo to create harmonious geometric and animal motifs on golden leaves." On his petit gold and ivory sceptre (1999) he deftly crafts sheet gold into a conical shape imbued with geometric decoratifs in filigree. In addition to the obvious reference to the ancient world, the piece recalls Art Deco. But it also speaks easily to contemporary trends, a hint of its timelessness. Circles, petals, triangles, semicircles, meanders and zoomorphic motifs of birds, lions and canids are all rendered using “fine dust” granulation. The top of the sceptre presents a corolla, also in filigree but surprisingly surmounted by the head of a goose made from ivory, a nod to Eastern Greece, V – IV century BC.  

Honored by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in March 2008 when they placed his "Chort" pendant in their permanent collection, Cagnetti is an acknowledged master. "Andrea Cagnetti's work is important for two reasons," says Elyse Zorn Karlin, publisher of Adornment Magazine, co-director of the Association for the Study of Jewelry & Related Arts and author of Jewelry & Metalwork in the Arts & Crafts Tradition. "It keeps up the continuum of bringing ancient designs into the modern world. Those of us who study the history of jewelry know that the revivals of ancient styles become the coveted antique jewels of the future," she explains. "And his superb goldsmith work and his mastery of ancient techniques makes his work dazzling and amazing!" 

The cliche is true: all that glitters is not gold. In fact, when Cagnetti contacted me many months ago to introduce himself and explain his project, I had just finished a conversation with a friend about how everyone with a bit of capital thinks they can "design" jewelry. So, truth be told, I approached his work with trepidation. However, once immersed in Cagnetti's world-- a place where beauty, truth and goodness intermingle with the ancient art and philosophy of smithing gold-- a renewed allegiance to the craft was born. Not only was I more than happy to spread the word about him to colleagues and friends, I was also pleasantly reminded how imagination and education are the true marks of a great artisan--Joanne Molina

For more information please visit: Akelo

PROGRAM FOR THE JEWELRY CONFERENCE AT THE FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, beginning October 9-11, 2009

Speakers and artists from Europe and many noted jewelry historians and artists from the United States will be featured at In Its Time: Materials and Techniques Throughout Jewelry History, an all-day conference to be held at The Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City. The conference takes place the weekend of October 9-11, 2009 and is the Fourth Annual Conference on Jewelry & Related Arts presented by the Association for the Study of Jewelry & Related Arts (ASJRA). This conference is open to anyone who loves jewelry...even beginners in collecting and studying jewelry will enjoy it. It’s also an opportunity to meet people from all aspects of the jewelry world: artists, appraisers, historians, curators, antique jewelry dealers, journalists and more. 

Visiting from Europe: 

Jack Ogden(Chief Executive of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain; author of Jewellery of the Ancient World) Speaking on: A Golden Age: A 5000 Year History of Jewelry Making

Rui Galopim de Carvalho (Executive Liaison Ambassador International Colored Gemstone Association, gemologist, historian) speaking on: Techniques in Antique Portuguese Jewelry

Andrea Cagnetti, a well-known Italian goldsmith specializing in the ancient technique of granulation. His work will be on view for the first time in the United States during the conference.

Lucie Heskett-Brem, an acclaimed Swiss goldsmith. A film about Lucie’s work will be shown at the conference.

Additional speakers include:

Yvonne Markowitz, Rita J Kaplan and Susan B. Kaplan Curator of Jewelry, Museum of Fine Arts Boston

and

Elyse Zorn Karlin, Publisher of Adornment Magazine, author of Jewelry &

Metalwork in the Arts & Crafts Tradition

Presenting Interesting Moments in Jewelry History

Barbara Berk (jewelry artist)

Contemporary Applications of Textile Techniques in Metal: A Jewelry Artist's Perspective on Sheet and Wire

Ursula Ilse-Neuman (Curator of Jewelry, Museum of Arts and Design,

New York City)

The Use of Glass in Jewelry

Gerald W.R. Ward (Katharine Lane Weems Senior Curator of Decorative Arts and Sculpture, Art of the Americas, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

Degrees of Preciosity: The Use of Innovative Materials and Techniques by American Studio Jewelers

Barbara Seidenath (jewelry artist)

Seductive Glass: The Use of Enamels in Jewelry

Jan Yager (jewelry artist)

City Flora/City Flotsam: How Materials Inspire A Jewelry Artist

The all-day conference will take place on Sunday, October 11, 2009 in the Katie Murphy Auditorium at the Fashion Institute of Technology, 27th St. and Seventh Avenue in New York City. In addition, two study days are offered on October 9 and 10th as follows:

Study Day 1: Friday, October 9, 2009

Morning

A curator’s tour of the Jan Mitchell Treasury (Gold of the Americas) at

The Metropolitan Museum.

Lunch at the upscale restaurant at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

near the Petrie Sculpture Court

Afternoon

Talk by Alan Bronstein—A Passion for Colored Diamonds

Alan Bronstein is the creator of the Aurora Pyramid currently on loan to

the Natural History Museum, London and the Aurora Butterfly of Peace

currently on view in The Nature of Diamonds Exhibition at the Houston

Museum of Natural History (TX) through September 7 and then moves to

the Field Museum of Natural History (IL).

The talk will take place at the Neue Galerie where attendees will be served

Viennese coffee, cold beverages and dessert.

We end the day with a wine reception at the Aaron Faber Gallery and an opportunity to meet two important European goldsmiths Andrea Cagnetti and Lucie Heskett-Brem. Their work will be on view all weekend.

Study Day 2: Saturday, October 10, 2009

Morning

Jewelry Artist Demonstrations: (held at FIT)

Barbara Berk—textile techniques in jewelry

Tom Herman—chasing and repousse´ work

Joe Wood—computer assisted design

Gloria Lieberman, Skinner’s, Inc. will speak on Bad Marriages in Jewelry

Private Lunch at Periyali Restaurant (the restaurant will be closed to

the public)

Afternoon

Visit to the studio of jewelry artist Giuliana Michelotti

Curator's tour of the exhibition Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright

Collection at the Museum of Arts & Design.

The co-directors of the conference are:

Elyse Zorn Karlin, publisher of Adornment Magazine; co-director of the Association for the Study of Jewelry & Related Arts; past president of the American Society of Jewelry Historians, author of Jewelry & Metalwork in the Arts & Crafts Tradition and co-author of Imperishable Beauty: Art Nouveau Jewelry. Yvonne Markowitz, Rita J. Kaplan and Susan B. Kaplan, curator of Jewelry, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; co-director of the Association for the Study of Jewelry & Related Arts; past editor of Jewelry: The Journal of the American Society of Jewelry Historians, and co-author of American Luxury: Jewelry from the House of Tiffany and Imperishable Beauty: Art Nouveau Jewelry. Anyone interested in the conference can find details at www.jewelryconference.com or may request a brochure at ekarlin@usa.net or by calling (914) 286-7685. 

For further information please contact:

Elyse Zorn Karlin, ASJRA Co-Director ekarlin@usa.net (914) 286-7685

Comments

[Jane]

Thank you for introducing the work of Andrea Cagnetti. It made me think of the Wiener Wekstaette with the sumptuousness of the materials.