Precious Thoughts 3

Assembly, Geometry, Myth and Memory in the jewellery of Kruger, Peters, Puig Cuyàs and Visintin

The City of Padova, thanks to its established tradition of gold-working and jewellery stemming from the Istituto Statale d’Arte “Pietro Selvatico”, and to the many exhibitions at international level organised by its Department for Cultural Affairs, is now recognised as a worthy representative of Italy within the ambit of contemporary European jewellery.
After the success of the previous two editions, Padova now presents the third edition of Pensieri Preziosi – Precious Thoughts, an initiative aimed at comparing the development of the expression of contemporary artists from various schools and countries, all working in the field of artistic jewellery.
The two previous editions aroused great interest not only among connoisseurs, experts, those working in the sector, and collectors, but also among the public, which began to appreciate the fascinating world of modern jewellery.
The formula is the same: comparison and dialogue between artists of the same generation. Opening in December, Precious Thoughts will present the works of four internationally known artists: Daniel Kruger (Germany), Ruudt Peters (Holland), Ramon Puig Cuyàs (Spain) and Graziano Visintin (Italy). All are teachers in their respective countries: Kruger at the University of Arts and Design at Halle, Peters at the Gerrit Rietveld school/academy in Amsterdam, Puig Cuyàs at La Massana in Barcellona, and Visintin at the “Pietro Selvatico” State Institute of Art in Padova, and all clearly represent the formal tendencies and thinking of their affiliations.
About thirty pieces by each artist will be displayed at the 16th-century Oratory of St. Roch, already a jewel in itself, and now traditionally the venue of exhibitions of contemporary jewellery.
The search for and experimentation with original lines, innovative, bold materials, and new interpretations are all typical of these artists. Although they come from four very different European countries, they all have in common their training, directed towards anti-conformism and a wish to abandon any already established path, in order to achieve provocative, unexpected solutions, in line with the cultural and social fervour which swept Europe and America in the second half of the last century.
Although with very different philosophies and ways of expression, dictated by the diversity of their personal choices, lives and thoughts, the four artists start from the same assumption: a jewel loses its original significance as a decorative object, a symbol of social prestige, wealth and power, and takes on a more conceptual role, becoming the privileged expression of deep reflection, study, emotion, technical expertise and creativity.
The choice to use “poor”, humble materials, subdued in aspect, sometimes very similar to the waste and relicts of modern civilisation, or to tubers or stones encrusted with dirt or salt, allows the object to be divested of its old pretence of being “precious goods”, and to become enriched with other meanings, thus obliging its wearer to focus attention on its form and on the inner motives which caused it to come into being.
The artists, in their formal choices, oscillate between remaining constant to the pure, essential forms of geometry, seen as harmony, elegance and equilibrium, and the most absolute creativity. This gives rise to the most disparate of forms, assemblies of heterogeneous materials, and organic creations, which seem to germinate, multiply, dissolve and decay, almost as if they had lives of their own.