On Thursday, February 10, 2022, the ARP auction house for Art Research Paris is holding its inaugural sale, titled Jewelers Designers, in its space on rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré.
Some 200 lots are presented, wonderfully illustrating the ingenuity and creative talent of the French, Belgian, and Swiss schools. All of these works are the work of jewelers such as Jean Vendome, Fernand Demaret, Gilbert Albert, and many others.
The magicians of creation
Like a manifesto, the jewelry collection, offered in Joailliers Designers, defends an ideal without commercial contingencies... the jewelry artist can give free rein to a luminous and poetic world. Manifesto also to discover works slipping from artistic craftsmanship to Art quite simply. No ostentatious precious stones, just beauty recreated by man. Carrying high the torch of the French school, Jean Vendome and his son Thierry Vendome highlight the implementation of rare minerals on abstract forms. The very abundant Belgian school is attached to Fernand Demaret to the futuristic universe overtaken by the advances of electronic machines and the interstellar race. The Swiss scene was occupied by Gilbert Albert who proposed, through the use of rare materials, a magnificently reworked animal and plant world. The family of "artists' jewelry" is remarkably represented by Alicia Pénalba, Roselyne Granet, Parvine Curie, Claude Mercier and Philippe Hiquily. Others were able to escape the classical atmosphere of their time by holding their own, such as Fred, Laloounis, Goudji, Tiffany and the watch manufacturers.
« The title "JEWELERS DESIGNERS" that has just been chosen to present this collection brings together all these families of designers. I wish enthusiasts the same pleasure I had in discovering all these beautiful objects brought together over several decades. ", explains Jean-Norbert SALIT, Member of the French Union of Experts in Works of Art.
Jean Vendome (1930-2017)
« I was so convinced that I held the truth and that others were wrong, that it reinforced my convictions that jewelry is an art and not a consumer product. " is the quote that best sums up Jean Vendome's determination to express himself through his jewelry... a total commitment to the chosen path.
Jean Vendome was born in 1930 in Lyon. A jeweler uncle introduced him to the world of jewelry at the age of 13. At 18, he opened his first workshop and began a rich, intense and creative journey, teeming with color. Jean Vendome brings together many aspects... great inventiveness and originality in his work, search for a certain aesthetic, creation of a new form of expression and many more. Since the first expressions of his work dating back to the 1950s, Jean Vendome has been able to trace a furrow in jewelry creation, which has inspired many artists.
Fernand Demaret (1924-2013)
This elegant-looking man in a three-piece suit pours out a profusion of futuristic creations. Electronic circuits and the dreamlike shapes of imaginary cosmic vessels cheerfully inspire the decors of his works. Like any creator with a commercial objective, he used precious stones in his creations, but especially fine stones... his favorite stone being the opal. He is known for being a fan of the lost-wax casting technique. In Brussels, this kind and quiet man only had two boutiques in his life, moving from Rue du Bailli to Avenue Louise (closed in 1992).
Gilbert Albert (1930-2019)
This Swiss jeweler, who studied jewelry design at the Geneva School of Industrial Arts and then at the Geneva School of Fine Arts, joined the Patek Philippe factory as a designer in 1955 and later as workshop manager. In the early 1960s, he opened his first boutique and began a successful collaboration with Omega. Winner of numerous international awards, he opened other boutiques around the world. His work is characterized by the use of unusual materials—fossils, scarabs, animal teeth, meteorites, etc. He finds an inexhaustible source of inspiration in nature and the animal world. Almost all of his creations are unique pieces.
Thierry Vendome (born in 1964)
Following in the footsteps of his father Jean Vendome, creator and pioneer of contemporary jewelry, Thierry Vendome practices his art exclusively in the world of jewelry. He knows how to mix precious materials with new and revolutionary materials for this specialty... like the use of rust in its raw state. His inventive works, full of asymmetry, merge an impetuous nature with the power, refinement and seduction of jewelry. Since the 90s, he has declined this very particular and magical universe for the greatest pleasure of adorning himself with original creations, both precious and wild.
Information
Search for Art, search for meaning, moments of life, lyricism or scientific rigor always in the service of beauty and ethics: Quite simply ARP!
ARP by Art Research Paris : 174, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré 75008 Paris / www.arp-auction.com
André Tirlet
