Water Ring, Form I, Large

Anish Kapoor Water Ring, Form I, Large, 2011 18k white gold polished with violet enamel interior 4 x 4 x 1.3 cm Edition 1 of 10 Numbered and signed Edition Louisa Guinness Gallery “I have made jewellery for many years. it is a way of making small objects that are like sculpture on the body.” – Anish Kapoor Anish Kapoor was one of the first artists approached by the Louisa Guinness to make jewels. He was excited to explore a new medium. His first work, Large Water Ring, was executed in two versions – white and yellow gold – for the gallery’s debut exhibition, ‘Past and Present: Jewellery by Contemporary Artists’, in 2003. The following year, Round and Tear rings were followed by Square, Rectangle and Crescent rings. The scale was the most challenging aspect for Kapoor when it came to considering jewellery. He was sure of the effect he wanted to achieve but unsure of how to achieve it. An expert at thinking in three dimensions, and about the possibilities of polished metals Kapoor nonetheless went through a painstaking process involving several prototypes to produce the ‘right’ effect in small scale. He was particularly concerned about the concave internal […]

Giuseppe Penone Salvia, 2022 18 kt yellow and white gold ring 6.20 x 2.35 x 2.6 cm Edition of 10 Signed and numbered Make it Yours ♥ “…  a material, a thing, an object, a colour has the strength to provide us with an apparent comprehension or suggestion of the complexity of life”  (G. Penone, 1998) After eleven years from the creation of Foglia (Leaf), Giuseppe Penone designs exclusively for Elisabetta Cipriani Salvia (Sage) rings. Known for his sculptural work addressing the relationship between man and nature, Giuseppe Penone has often employed his own body as a mean to investigate issues concerning the perception of reality, often stepping into the metaphysical. Penone’s work reveals the interconnected nature of everything that exists. He achieves this through the concrete (visual, tactile, and olfactory) aspects of nature, which he explored until he uncovers it magical primal essence.Incredibly versatile and having worked with a variety of materials on different scale, Penone’s project for Elisabetta Cipriani Gallery is a natural extension of his artistic oeuvre. Produced in a limited edition of 10, Salvia (Sage) ring is a wearable sculpture reproducing a highly detailed sage leaf upon which a musical note has been gently applied. Using the lost-wax […]

Frank Stella Ring, 2008 18kt yellow gold ring 4.4 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm Edition 8 of 10 Signed and numbered Inspired by baroque artists, who developed illusionistic “tricks” to convincingly suggest that their subjects emerged out of the canvas and into the space of the viewer, Stella extended his paintings into the third dimension to enter the viewer’s space with protruding materials. He further developed this concept creating exuberant sculptural works dominated by tangles of curves, spirals and loops. The wearable art project came to life through the collaboration between Stella and Ernest Mourmans. The drawing of the ring stems from a 6-meters sculpture. It took six months for realization, as it is all handmade and welded in 28 parts. Taking six months for realization, this beautifully crafted ring is Stella’s first piece of wearable art.  

Sophia Vari Ulysse, 2011 Silver and white lacquer ring 3.6 x 3 cm 2 AP plus edition of 6 Signed and numbered Make it Yours ♥ 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 […]

Sophia Vari Talthybios, 2014 White gold and rock crystal ring 3.5 x 3 cm 2 AP plus edition of 6 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 the fact that […]

Sophia Vari Pénélope, early 2000 Ebony and silver ring 5.4 x 5.4 x h 3.3 cm Unique and signed Sold 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 the fact that I have greater […]

Sophia Vari Calliope, 2012 Ebony and yellow gold ring 4 x 3.6 cm 2 AP plus edition of 6 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 the fact that I […]

Sophia Vari Autolycos, 2018 White Carrara marble and 18kt yellow gold ring 3.9 x 3 cm edition of 3 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 on me – and secondly the […]

Joy BC
 Hypatia , 2022 22kt recycled yellow gold, recycled platinum, 18kt recycled white gold with two natural 0.32kt (in total) diamonds (1 x 0.13kt & 1 x 0.19kt) ring 2.5 cm long edition 1 of 3 plus 2AP’s unique within the series Signed “Hypatia was a force of nature. A Greek Philosopher and Mathematician. A woman who was written about by Plato in a patriarchal society. She was also murdered. In previous works, I have explored the hidden histories of forgotten female heroes, creating miniature-monuments in their honour. This brooch is to celebrate and honor Hypatia – but also to protest against violence to women. The historical recurrence of violence to women, for simply being a woman, is barbaric.In ancient times a brooch could be an emblem of authority, wealth and power. Brooches have also often been a mode of protest or a billboard of one’s beliefs. Think of badges with slogans on or the suffragette pins.The red patina and the deep blood red garnets represent bloodshed. Both bronze and yellow gold are affiliated with artworks from the Hellenistic period (323 BC-31BC). This work combines a noble metal (gold), most associated with jewellery, with a material (bronze) synonymous with sculpture”. […]

Ai Weiwei Ring W and Ring M, 2018 24kt yellow gold rings 2.48 x 2.88 x 1.65 cm; 2.72 x 3.04 x 1.86 cm edition of 6 (per model) After three years of intense artistic and social commitment, Ai Weiwei returns to create unique jewels with the purity of 24kt gold that can be worn by women and men. The exclusive project, which includes two models of rings, realized in an edition of 6 pieces each, reflects the artist’s concern about the human condition, the awareness of what it means to be trapped, bound, and deprived of the freedom to travel and to determine one’s own existence. Inspired by ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and the processing of gold in ancient Greece, the rings continue the artist’s research on human migration – as witnessed in the artist’s ground-breaking documentary ‘Human Flow’ (2017). The wearable artworks are representative of Ai Weiwei’s sensitivity to the duality of human nature, with its capacity for nurture and kindness on one hand yet destruction and cruelty on the other. In the centre of the ring’s face, depictions of migrants’ stories unfold under a mysterious half-moon: by foot or by sea, some are portrayed travelling together and others alone. Ai […]