Medusa (Comb)

Joy BC Medusa (Comb), 2023 Dark green bronze, 18kt red gold, 950 platinum, 7.61kt of natural un-heated Fuli Peridot brooch and sculpture. Unique This metamorphic artwork challenges definition. A mutating comb, a brooch – both a sculpture and a jewel. Combs date back to 5500 BC. Across cultures and continents, they are recognizable domestic objects, which are inherently connected to self-image and grooming. Combining noble metals, gemstones and bronze, the work oscillates between various material and categorical perceptions associated to both decorative and fine arts. The teeth of the comb seem to be moving, swaying like the tendrils of an anemone under the sea. We often talk about nature as if it is something separate from us, but we are nature. Medusa connects the human and the animal. She attracts yet disturbs the viewer – her hair a bed of writhing snakes. Though some may think of her as a monster, she was the only mortal out of her gorgon siblings. Her name literally means ‘Queen’. It was the act of violence, rape and scorn that changed her. Medusa has been a subject for artists throughout the centuries. This piece is my modern take on Medusa. To me, it is a story […]

Giampaolo Babetto Spilla , 1976 18kt yellow gold brooch Unique and signed Giampaolo Babetto’s work reflects contemporary art movements such as concrete art, minimal art, kinetic or pop art in a unique, purist and plastic manner. His pieces are immediately recognisable by its simple design. He is inspired by the architecture of his homeland, by Palladio’s villas, and by the geometries in which he finds poetry. His jewellery is innovative in concept. Made up of different abstract elements, broken down into modular units, or rendered moveable through the use of ingenious links, Babetto’s works are like small architectural pieces or small sculptures. Babetto prefers working in gold due to its stable malleability and its warm sheen which he combines with unconventional materials such as plastic or glass, ebony, dusting the internal surface with a velvet-like pigment in luminous primary colours of reds or blues or using enamel and age-old niello-based techniques. These materials are used as highlights and contrasts in works of increasingly pure and essential geometrical forms that have come to characterise the Padua School.  

Mariko Mori Planets Brooch, 2013 18kt white gold, South Sea pearls, Akoya pearls, broken glass bead, aurora bead and crystal with pins on reverse. 7 cm diameter Edition 2 of 10 Signed and numbered Edition of Louisa Guinness Gallery Mori’s later jewellery work Planets also employed a circular form, this time intended to reference not only a planetary ‘orbit’ but also the Jomon understanding of time as circular (the Jomon was an early Mesolithic-type culture in Japan). The work drew on Mori’s 2004 installation Transcircle, made up of nine luminescent Corian stone pillars placed in a circle. Each stone glowed at various intervals and in various colours, according to the movement of nine planets in our solar system. The considered placement of each pearl and bead on its white gold orbit suggests order in an infinitely variable universe. Worn around the neck, hanging from the ears or pinned above the heart, Planets, like Transcircle, encourages a personal reflection on our place in the cosmos. ”The Pearls are a gift from the sea tide to the moon. The pearls remind us of our connection to the cosmos. Planets symbolise our  entities as cosmic beings.’‘ Mariko Mori All Stuff Brooches More Items

Sophia Vari Danaé, late 90 Yellow gold pendant and brooch with handmade silk lace 2/2 AP last piece (from an edition of 6) 10.6 x 7.9 cm Signed and numbered Sophia Vari’s “portable sculptures”, as she likes to call them, first became part of the artist’s body of work 30 years ago; at a time in her life when demanding international schedule kept her constantly on the move. While travelling, she carried with her a small box of plasticine, from which she would mould miniature sculptures. “From that day on, I had a new creative challenge that gave me a lot of joy because I could see the pieces being worn,” she recalls. Vari approaches wearable art in precisely the same manner and strength as her abstract sculptures, collages and paintings. Her thorough exploration of bold geometric forms, the examination of volume, painterly curves and lines result in the composition both peaceful and elegant but also captures a harmonious theatrical tension. “It is a real challenge for me, and it is very much like creating a sculpture, made to be worn. No doubt, the fact that I am a woman has its advantages. Firstly, because I can try it on […]

Sophia Vari Clytia, 2005 Pau Amarillo wood from Brazil and 18 kt yellow gold brooch and pendant 6.2 x 5.8 cm 2 AP plus edition of 8 Signed and numbered Sophia Vari’s “portable sculptures”, as she likes to call them, first became part of the artist’s body of work 30 years ago; at a time in her life when demanding international schedule kept her constantly on the move. While travelling, she carried with her a small box of plasticine, from which she would mould miniature sculptures. “From that day on, I had a new creative challenge that gave me a lot of joy because I could see the pieces being worn,” she recalls. Vari approaches wearable art in precisely the same manner and strength as her abstract sculptures, collages and paintings. Her thorough exploration of bold geometric forms, the examination of volume, painterly curves and lines result in the composition both peaceful and elegant but also captures a harmonious theatrical tension. “It is a real challenge for me, and it is very much like creating a sculpture, made to be worn. No doubt, the fact that I am a woman has its advantages. Firstly, because I can try it on […]

Sophia Vari Artémis, late 90 Ebony and yellow gold pendant and brooch. Available with hand made silk rope 8 x 7.6 cm Edition of 6 plus 2 AP Signed and numbered Sophia Vari’s “portable sculptures”, as she likes to call them, first became part of the artist’s body of work 30 years ago; at a time in her life when demanding international schedule kept her constantly on the move. While travelling, she carried with her a small box of plasticine, from which she would mould miniature sculptures. “From that day on, I had a new creative challenge that gave me a lot of joy because I could see the pieces being worn,” she recalls. Vari approaches wearable art in precisely the same manner and strength as her abstract sculptures, collages and paintings. Her thorough exploration of bold geometric forms, the examination of volume, painterly curves and lines result in the composition both peaceful and elegant but also captures a harmonious theatrical tension. “It is a real challenge for me, and it is very much like creating a sculpture, made to be worn. No doubt, the fact that I am a woman has its advantages. Firstly, because I can try it […]

Sophia Vari Amazones, 2011 Silver brooch and pendant 2 AP plus edition of 6 12 x 7 cm ; chocker 10 cm internal diameter Signed and numbered Sophia Vari’s “portable sculptures”, as she likes to call them, first became part of the artist’s body of work 30 years ago; at a time in her life when demanding international schedule kept her constantly on the move. While travelling, she carried with her a small box of plasticine, from which she would mould miniature sculptures. “From that day on, I had a new creative challenge that gave me a lot of joy because I could see the pieces being worn,” she recalls. Vari approaches wearable art in precisely the same manner and strength as her abstract sculptures, collages and paintings. Her thorough exploration of bold geometric forms, the examination of volume, painterly curves and lines result in the composition both peaceful and elegant but also captures a harmonious theatrical tension. “It is a real challenge for me, and it is very much like creating a sculpture, made to be worn. No doubt, the fact that I am a woman has its advantages. Firstly, because I can try it on me – and secondly […]

Joy BC Hypatia, 2022 green bronze, 22kt recycled yellow gold, recycled 925 silver and green garnets cut by Jean Noel Soni, brooch and pendant 6.9 x 5.1 x 1.5 cm Edition of 3 Hypatia was force of nature. A Greek Philosopher and Mathematician. A woman who was written about by Plato in a patriarchal society. “In previous work, I have explored the hidden histories of forgotten female heroes, creating miniature-monuments in their honor. This ring and pendant/brooch are made to celebrate and honor Hypatia – but also to protest against violence to woman. The historical recurrence of violence to women, for simply being a woman, is barbaric.” Her portrait in the brooch/pendant is carved and cast into bronze, a material synonymous with Hellenistic Greek sculpture. The tears specially cut by alluded gemstone cutter Jean-Noel Soni and set into 22ct yellow gold. Often in ancient sculpture, the eyes in stone carvings and bronzes were inlaid with gold and precious or semi-precious stones. Many of these were stolen and thus we now see portraits with empty eyes. “The teardrop is recurring symbol in my work and I have researched tears both scientifically and mythologically.Whatever the type of tear, in my view, they […]

Ute Decker Calligraphy #14, 2020 100% recycled silver brooch sculpture 13.5 x 5.5 x 3 cm unique within the series initialled and hallmarked   The award winning, internationally exhibited artist jeweller, with pieces in several museum collections including the V&A sculpts movement into powerful minimalist forms for her first solo show at the gallery. Sensuous undulations characterize the new Waves series created for this exhibition. Expressing the beauty of nature through abstractions, Ute Decker is arresting time to take a closer look at the movement of waves, usually so fleeting.

Ute Decker Rolling Waves in Moonlight, 2017 18kt Fairtrade gold brooch & pin 10 x 3.7 x 2.5 cm edition of 28 unique within the series initialled and hallmarked   The award winning, internationally exhibited artist jeweller, with pieces in several museum collections including the V&A sculpts movement into powerful minimalist forms for her first solo show at the gallery. Sensuous undulations characterize the new Waves series created for this exhibition. Expressing the beauty of nature through abstractions, Ute Decker is arresting time to take a closer look at the movement of waves, usually so fleeting.