DESIGN:From Alexander Calder to Jeff Koons

A few days ago when we went to Musée des Arts Décoratifs, what really attracted our interest was the exhibition “De Calder à Koons, bijoux  d’artistes- La collection idéale de Diane Vene” that shows jewellery created from in the history of modern and contemporary art, through Diane Venet’s Collection. Diane Venet, for more than thirty years has collected more than 230 artist’s jewellery. However, the exhibition is enriched with pieces lend by Galleries, Collectors and Family of Artists. The exhibition extends chronologically and thematically on two floors of the Museum, covering essentially the work and creations of 150 artists, since many of the jewels are directly related to their work, the exhibits of each gallery represents an Art Movement and at the same time are exhibited paintings, sculptures or photographs of the participating artists that show us the sources of inspiration and their starting point. Diane Venet, the wife of the French Conceptual artist Bernar Venet, says about the origins of her Collection “My passion for artists’ jewellery began one day when Bernar playfully bent a thin silver band around my left ring finger to make me a wedding ring…”. The artists list is huge: Alexander Calder, Jeff Koons, Max Ernst, Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, Lucio Fontana, Niki de Saint Phalle, Caesar, Salvador Dali, Arman, Takis Louise Bourgeois, Meret Openheim, Arman, Andy Warhol Damien Hirst, Giuseppe Penone, Yayoi Kusama, Cornelia Parker, Tim Noble & Sue Webster and Kader Attia. Artist’s jewellery all the times have been a special subject, since applied art in past times was considered inferior, because they belong neither to the world of high jewellery nor to the world of costume jewellery, neither are considered as artworks, they are a special category that communicates with the work of vthe isual artists and suggests their need το create sometimes, something more playful and light, like a break, or a semicolon, just as someone visit this exhibition, that we will present you in two parts in an attempt to introduce you as much as we can in its set up.-Efi Michalarou

Info: Curator: Karine Lacquemant, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 107 rue de Rivoli, Paris, Duration: 7/3-8/7/18, Days & Hours: Tue-Sun 11:00-18:00, http://madparis.fr