Elisabetta Cipriani Gallery is the international point of reference for contemporary wearable sculpture, exploring the body as a space for art. Founded in London in 2009, the gallery invites world-leading contemporary artists to translate their visual language into works that move beyond traditional jewellery and into the realm of sculpture for the body.
Through Elisabetta Cipriani’s pioneering curatorial vision, the gallery has redefined the boundaries between fine art, adornment, and performance, positioning wearable art as an independent and collectible art discipline. Each project originates from a dialogue between artist, material, and body, resulting in works that are activated through presence, movement, and human interaction.
The gallery has collaborated with over 35 internationally acclaimed artists – including painters and sculptors such as Ai Weiwei, Chiharu Shiota, Giulio Paolini, Ilya & Emilia Kabakov, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Enrico Castellani, Sophia Vari, Giorgio Vigna, Jannis Kounellis, Rebecca Horn, and Michele Oka Doner – inviting them to explore scale, intimacy, and the relationship between sculpture and the human form.
The creative process begins with Elisabetta proposing the body as a new territory within an artist’s practice. Often entering this field for the first time, artists engage in an experimental, research-driven journey, developing prototypes that reinterpret their sculptural language at an intimate scale. Elisabetta closely follows each stage of development, guiding the transition from concept to wearable form. Final works are produced either by the artist or in collaboration with specialised master goldsmiths, resulting in unique or limited-edition sculptures that represent some of the most personal and unexpected expressions within the artist’s oeuvre
Alongside these collaborations with internationally recognised visual artists, the gallery also fosters a dedicated platform for makers whose practice is inherently rooted in sculpture at an intimate scale. EC LAB is the gallery’s research and production platform dedicated to artist-makers whose work embodies a strong sculptural aesthetic. Unlike invited visual artists who approach the body as a new site for their practice, EC LAB supports artist-makers for whom the body has always been central. Working independently and handcrafting their own pieces, these artists explore material, form, and scale with the sensibility of sculptors, creating works that exist between jewellery and small-scale sculpture. Through EC LAB, the gallery nurtures experimentation, technical mastery, and new directions in the evolving field of wearable sculpture.
Works developed by the gallery are held in major museum and private collections worldwide, including the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Dallas, The World Jewellery Museum, Seoul; and the Design Museum Den Bosch, ‘s-Hertogenbosch. A selection of projects are featured in From Picasso to Koons: The Artist as Jeweller, the landmark touring exhibition curated by Diane Venet.
Elisabetta Cipriani Gallery participates selectively in leading international art and design events, including Salon Art + Design New York and Dallas, Design Miami, and every two years presents major projects during the opening of the Venice Biennale at the Monaco Grand Canal Hotel in Venice. The gallery also presents three to four exhibitions and performances per year, offering an evolving program that highlights innovation, experimentation, and the dialogue between sculpture, the body, and wearable art.