Elisabetta Cipriani on Artist Jewellery as Wearable Art and Collectible Design
At Teatro Palladio, Elisabetta Cipriani took part in Coded Couture – Jewelry as Cultural Code in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, an event organised by Trendvision Jewellery + Forecasting. Invited to speak on the role of jewelry in contemporary culture, Cipriani was tasked with presenting artist jewellery as a field of artistic, conceptual, and craft experimentation—one that today sits firmly within the realm of wearable art and collectible design.
Drawing on over fifteen years of curatorial practice at her eponymous London gallery, founded in 2009, Elisabetta Cipriani articulated a vision in which jewelry transcends adornment to become a form of visual art. Italian by birth and British by adoption, she has consistently invited internationally renowned contemporary artists to create projects that explore the body as a site of meaning, transformation, and intimacy.
“The jewelry I present tells a story—an idea, a connection between the artist and the material. The intention is to communicate the value of creations that are expressions of visual art, to be appreciated as much as a sculpture or a painting.”
During her talk, Cipriani traced the evolution of artist jewellery from experimental studio practice to museum-recognised collectible design, now acquired by leading institutions and private collections worldwide. She presented jewelry as a space of artistic freedom—where concept, material, and technique operate with the same rigor as fine art, while remaining activated by the human body.
She guided the audience through a selection of sculptural and conceptual wearable works by artists such as Ai Weiwei, Michele Oka Doner, Jannis Kounellis, Joy BC, Giorgio Vigna, Giampaolo Babetto, and Sophia Vari. Their works function as sculptures for the body—objects that carry memory, time, and transformation, where material becomes gesture and technique becomes research.
Reflecting on the experience, Cipriani emphasised the importance of dialogue and transmission in contemporary jewelry practice:
“I was very happy to participate in the event and to be able to share my vision of jewelry. I hope this presentation offered an intimate yet powerful narrative on continuity, presence, and what is worth preserving, wearing, and passing down from generation to generation.”
▶ Watch Elisabetta Cipriani’s full talk at Coded Couture – Jewelry as Cultural Code in the Age of Artificial Intelligence on YouTube:
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