Liliane Lijn Press Release

Elisabetta Cipriani Gallery is excited to continue its ongoing collaboration with acclaimed American artist Liliane Lijn, unveiling a stunning new collection of art jewellery.

Lijn’s artistic approach is deeply rooted in natural forms and elements, drawing inspiration from raw materials—volcanic magma, meteorites, clods of earth, and lunar rocks. These forces are translated into wearable sculptures, crafted from pure electroformed silver in Italy, embodying an organic, almost primordial aesthetic. Each piece reflects humanity’s connection with nature and the cosmos, serving as conceptual explorations of our relationship with the planet.

Lijn presents a mesmerising new collection of pendants, and a cuff inspired by the ancient landscapes of Pompeii and the movement of lava. The collection explores fluidity, nature, and the powerful bond between humanity and the natural world. Her visit to Vesuvius and Pompeii ignited a creative vision. “These pieces evoke volcanic or lunar landscapes and even our inner selves. They combine ancient luxury with raw landscapes and cliffs,” she explains.

Crafted both in silver with hues of blue pigmentation and in gold, the pieces evoke the textures of cliffs and crevices found in volcanic terrains. On the silver pendants intricate details are highlighted that contrast with the smoother, gilded surfaces of the gold pendants. Each pendant and cuff reflect different moods and landscapes, offering a tactile experience that engages the wearer in a multisensory experience that shifts with light and movement.

Lijn’s collection also reflects her perspective on humanity’s evolving relationship with nature in an age of advancing AI and technology. “It’s important for us to feel that we’re part of nature,” Lijn emphasizes. Her pendants serve as reminders of the beauty and movement in the natural world, inviting the wearer to reconnect with elemental forces.

The collection features:

• Pompeiian Landscape, 2024 (Pendant): Available in both electroformed silver and gold-plated versions, this pendant is produced in an edition of 3, with an additional 2 artist’s proofs. The piece embodies the timeless luxury and atmosphere of the ancient city of Pompeii, making it a wearable tribute to its rich history.
• Small Eruption, 2024 (Pendant): Crafted in electroformed silver and gold-plated versions, this bold pendant captures the movement and force of volcanic activity in a compact, elegant design. Its dynamic form echoes the explosive nature of eruptions while remaining sleek and refined.
• Volcanic Landscape, 2024 (Pendant): This striking electroformed piece, available in gold-plated and silver versions, is also produced in an edition of 3, plus 2 artist’s proofs. It translates the rugged, transformative nature of volcanic terrains into wearable art, evoking the energy and majesty of these powerful landscapes.
• Lava Leaf, 2024 (Pendant): The Lava Leaf pendant comes in two versions: an electroformed silver edition (limited to 12 pieces) and a gold-plated edition (limited to 3 pieces plus 2 artist’s proofs). Both versions reflect the fluid, organic shapes found in volcanic landscapes, offering a tactile, nature-inspired design.
•  Lava Cuff, 2024: The Lava Cuff is an electroformed, gold-plated cuff available in an edition of 3, with 2 artist’s proofs. This piece draws inspiration from the flowing textures of lava, creating a tactile and powerful statement that wraps around the wrist like molten rock.

About Liliane Lijn:

Liliane Lijn is a pioneering figure in kinetic art. She began working with light, text, and movement in the early 1960s, making her one of the first female artists to incorporate kinetic text. A central motif in her work is the “koan,” a cone-like shape symbolizing transformation, balance, and grounding. Lijn’s koans, often spinning to create hypnotic effects, represent the interplay between geometry, light, and movement. Her art merges femininity with universal cosmic themes, exploring planetary orbits and the nature of light.

Liliane Lijn, born in New York, studied Archaeology at the Sorbonne. Buddhism and Surrealism became early influences, in particular the writings of the poet Antonin Artaud with his focus on ‘awareness’.Becoming friends with Beat Generation poets led Lijn to explore, as early as 1962, the relation between language and light in her kinetic Poem Machines.

From a visionary core, inspired by science, feminine mythology, and eastern philosophies, Lijn combines industrial materials with artistic processes to reinvent the feminine body.
She is best known for her work with light and movement and her use of the mythologically feminine form of the cone. Science and myth are transformed and translated from cosmogenic archetypes into drawings, performances, audio-visual and kinetic works.

Internationally exhibited since the 1960s, her works are in numerous collections including Tate, British Museum, V&A and FNAC.

Recent Exhibitions: The Milk of Dreams, 59th International Art Exhibition of the Biennale di Venezia; Light: Works from Tate’s Collection, ACMI, Melbourne (touring).Radical Software, Mudam, Luxembourg; Electric Dreams, 28 November 2024 – 1 June 2025. Arise Alive, solo survey exhibition at Haus Der Kunst, Munich, 5.4.24 – 22.9.24 touring to mumok, Vienna, 11.15.24 – 5/4/2025 and Tate St. Ives: 24 May – 5 October 2025. A monograph will accompany Arise Alive. She has lived in London since 1966 and is represented by Sylvia Kouvali Gallery, London/Piraeus.