Joy BC: Between Ruin and Root
29 September – 10 November 2026
Elisabetta Cipriani Gallery is delighted to present Between Ruin and Root, the first solo exhibition at the gallery by London-born Italian British artist and goldsmith Joy BC. On view from 29 September to 10 November 2026, the exhibition brings together more than twenty works spanning the artist’s evolving practice, including six new works created exclusively for the exhibition.
Opening with a Private View on Tuesday 29 September at 6 pm, the exhibition will be accompanied by a specialconversation on Tuesday 6 October at 6 pm, when Joy BC will be joined by her former master, the renowned goldsmith Giovanni Corvaja, and writer and curator Melanie Grant to discuss craftsmanship, material innovation and the enduring relationship between master and apprentice.
Marking the artist’s first solo exhibition in London and her first presentation at Elisabetta Cipriani Gallery, Between Ruin and Root reflects over a decade of research into mythology, material culture and transformation. Working between sculpture and jewellery, Joy BC creates objects that challenge conventional notions of preciousness while exploring how beauty, memory and meaning evolve through time.
At the heart of the exhibition lies the idea of transformation. Seeds become trees, tears become gemstones, ruins become sites of renewal and burial becomes planting. Every work is conceived to outlive its maker, travelling through successive custodians while accumulating new stories and significance. As Joy BC reflects: “I do believe a thing of beauty is a joyforever. Making with intent, these pieces are living, travelling through space and time with their custodians beyond my lifetime and into the next.”
The exhibition also reflects the cultural dialogue between London and Rome. Joy BC’s maternal heritage is Italian, while Elisabetta Cipriani is Roman, and together they share a fascination with classical antiquity, literature and nature. Their early conversations often returned to Italo Calvino’s The Baron in the Trees, whose celebration of nature and freedom has become an enduring point of reference for the artist. One of the new works centres on an acorn collected in Rome, a quiet symbol of resilience, dormancy and possibility that echoes the exhibition’s central themes of regeneration and continuity.
Among the exhibition’s highlights are two new versions of Demeter (Parched Earth): one crafted in 18 kt yellow gold and old-cut diamonds, and another in bronze and gold, set with an exquisite aquamarine, further expanding Joy BC’s exploration of mythology, regeneration and the enduring symbolism of the seeds. Seeds can lay dormant for hundreds, even thousands of years, waiting until the soft kiss of rain awakens them.
The exhibition also presents Blood, Sweat and Tears, the latest iteration of Joy BC’s celebrated Precious Tears series. Distinguished by the beautifully modelled lips—cast from the artist’s own—it becomes a subtle self-portrait while extending one of her most recognisable bodies of work. The culmination of more than a decade of research into the symbolism of tears, the work transforms one of humanity’s most fleeting expressions into an enduring precious form, proposing vulnerability not as weakness but as a source of resilience and strength.
The exhibition also introduces Buried / Planted, Joy BC’s first exploration of the classical theme of Memento Mori. Created from silver reclaimed from medical X-rays, the work transforms a material once used to reveal the hidden body into an object of memory, healing and renewal. Inspired by the saying, “Sometimes you think you have been buried, whenin fact you have been planted,” the ring reflects on cycles of loss, resilience and new beginnings. Hidden on its reverse is a small golden seed—a quiet symbol of hope, suggesting that every ending carries the promise of new life.
A further group of new comb brooches continues Joy BC’s exploration of mythology through the figure of Medusa. Drawing inspiration from the rich traditions of combs across Japanese, African and Western cultures, these sculptural works combine bronze, silver, gold and gemstones to blur the boundaries between jewellery and sculpture. Dating back to around 5500 BC, combs are among humanity’s oldest domestic objects, yet they have long served as symbols of beauty, status, ritual and transformation. Reimagined by Joy BC as wearable sculptures, they become powerful contemporary reflections on identity, feminine strength and metamorphosis.
About the Artist
Joy BC (Joy Bonfield-Colombara) (b. 1989) is an Italian British artist and goldsmith whose practice moves between jewellery and sculpture, drawing upon mythology, classical antiquity and material culture. Using ancient techniques innoble metals and bronze, she reimagines historical narratives through a distinctly contemporary lens.
Born and raised in London, she studied at the Glasgow School of Art before completing an MA at the Royal College of Art. Through prestigious scholarships and fellowships in Italy and Japan, she trained with internationally renowned master craftsmen, including Giovanni Corvaja, while also studying traditional metal casting, Damascus steel and Japanese urushi lacquer techniques. Since graduating in 2019, Joy BC has exhibited internationally, including in Japan,Hong Kong and London. In 2021, she participated in Force of Nature, curated by Melanie Grant in partnership with Elisabetta Cipriani Gallery, marking the beginning of her ongoing collaboration with the gallery.
Her work is held in international private collections and has been commissioned by museums in the United Kingdom and abroad. Recent projects include a commission for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, USA, while her work has recentlyentered the Alice and Louis Koch Collection at the Swiss National Museum, Zurich.
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