Cartier: The Exhibition @ NGA - National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Cartier: The Exhibition
NGA - National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
March 30 — 22 July, 2018

Cartier Paris

Two crocodile brooches 1975

gold, 1023 brilliant-cut fancy intense yellow diamonds,

two navette-shaped emerald cabochons, 

1060 emeralds, two ruby cabochons

30 cm and 27 cm (l. each)

Collection Cartier © Cartier 

Photo: Nick Welsh

The unmissable Cartier: The Exhibition features more than 300 examples of masterpieces by Cartier, charting the prestigious Paris jewellery house throughout 20th century history. The exhibition provides a window into the intimate world of Cartier’s famous international clients, including royalty, aristocrats and global socialites, to movie stars like Elizabeth Taylor whose platinum, gold and Burmese ruby necklace (1951) is synonymous with the iconic jeweller.

Cartier Paris  

Stomacher brooch 1907

platinum, one pear-shaped sapphire,

seven cushion-shaped sapphires,

round old- and rose-cut diamonds,

millegrain setting

21 x 13 cm 

Collection Cartier © Cartier 

Photo: Vincent Wulveryck

The exclusive exhibition features pieces from turn-of-the-century opera star Dame Nellie Melba—Australia’s first global superstar—who was a major client of the Maison Cartier, which supplied other incredibly intricate ‘garland-style’ jewellery popular with European aristocracy.

Cartier Paris 

Brooch 1907

platinum, round old- and rose-cut diamonds, 

millegrain setting

3.8 x 3.8 cm 

Collection Cartier © Cartier 

Photo: Vincent Wulveryck

Art Deco swept the world in the 1920s and Cartier’s designs led the way with its innovative style, such as the Duchess of Windsor’s trend-setting Flamingo brooch (1940) and original ‘It Girl’ DaisyFellowes’ Tutti Frutti necklace (1936). Their spectacular designs took cues from sources around the world: including East Asia, India and Ancient Egypt. Cartier combined these influences into some of their most exotic jewellery designs.

Cartier London 

Rose clip brooch 1938

platinum, baguette-, round-old- and 

single-cut diamonds

7 x 4 cm 

Collection Cartier © Cartier 

Photo: Nick Welsh

During the Age of Glamour of 1930s to 1960s, the social, political and historic events demanded a new approach from the agile Cartier designers. That creativity continued with seminal femme fatale María Félix’s flamboyant Crocodile necklace (1975).

Cartier Paris

Necklace, bracelet and pair of earrings 1951 

platinum, gold, brilliant-, baguette-, 

modified baguette- and fancy-cut diamonds, 

cushion-shaped and round faceted Burmese rubies

37 cm (l. necklace); 6.2 cm (l. bracelet at c.); 

6 cm (l. earrings)

Collection Cartier © Cartier 

Photo: Marian Gérard

Central to the NGA’s Cartier exhibition is a group of beautiful items from the Royal collection, including a selection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s personal favourites. Even the Queen’s Halo Tiara which she leant to Kate Middleton for her wedding to HRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, are on display in Canberra.

The exhibition also includes many items that belonged to an array of European monarchs who were amongst Cartier’s most valued clients, including Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco whose 10.48-carat diamond engagement ring (1956) was made by Cartier Paris.

Cartier London  

Halo tiara 1934

platinum, round old- and baguette-cut diamonds

4 cm (height)

Collection Cartier © Cartier

Photo: Nils Herrmann

Cartier is credited with creating the modern wristwatch made popular by some of the world’s leading men. A variety of the Maison Cartier’s iconic watch designs are shown in the context of other ingenious items designed specifically for men. Insight into the inner workings of these intricate, ground-breaking designs is also explored through the workshop space.

The NGA exhibition demonstrates Cartier’s flexibility as it continues to be the purveyor of innovation and style, building a contemporary bridge from its iconic past into the future.

Exhibition organised in association with the Denver Art Museum.

NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA - NGA

Parkes Place, Parkes, Canberra ACT 2600
nga.gov.au

Contemporary Jewelry & Design, High, Atlanta, 2013-2014

Bangles to Benches: Contemporary Jewelry and Design - Campana Brothers, Ron Arad, Zaha Hadid, Marcel Wanders and Other Renowned Designers at High Museum of Art, Atlanta 
October 8, 2013 - June 8, 2014

The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia (USA) will broaden visitors’ ideas of jewelry as wearable sculpture with Bangles to Benches: Contemporary Jewelry and Design, on view October 8, 2013 through June 8, 2014.

Ranging from mass-produced to one-of-a-kind works and from hand-crafted to digitally fabricated pieces, this exhibition focuses on the scale, range and creative dexterity found in many contemporary designers’ repertoires today. Innovative contemporary jewelry will be paired with other design objects—from chairs to climbing walls—created by the same designers.

This exhibition will celebrate the accomplishments of key designers currently in the High’s permanent collection, including Ron Arad, Fernando and Humberto Campana, Héctor Esrawe, Johanna Grawunder, Zaha Hadid, Joris Laarman, Marc Newson, Ettore Sottsass, Jr. and Marcel Wanders. The show will also highlight many of the High’s recent acquisitions by these designers and will demonstrate the range of contemporary design.

Examples of notable pairings in the exhibition include the modular "Bone Structures" necklace (composed of 18 leather pieces attachable by magnets) by Fernando and Humberto Campana alongside their vibrant 2010 "Sushi" sofa and the gold-plated clown "Nose" necklace by Marcel Wanders, displayed with his 2006 prototype "Crochet" chair made of hand-crocheted fiber and epoxy resin.

“Over the last seven years, we have grown our collection of works by these designers to reinforce and explore ideas of production, material, intent and form,” said Sarah Schleuning, curator of decorative arts and design at the High. “By showcasing wearable designs by these artists alongside their works in other mediums, we’ll celebrate the breadth of the influence of these artists and also show how their works have come to shape the High’s permanent collection.”

Other notable works in the exhibition include: Ron Arad’s "Blo-Void I" rocker and "Hot Ingo" earrings; Zaha Hadid’s "Glace" series with Atelier Swarovski and "Tea and Coffee Towers"; Joris Laarman’s "Credit" brooch and "Ivy" climbing wall; and Marc Newson’s "Orgone 1" bracelet and "Embryo chair".

HIGH MUSEUM OF ART, ATLANTA, GA
Museum's website: www.high.org

Art and Design of Contemporary Jewellery at the National Gallery of Victoria, Australia - NGV International, St Kilda

Unexpected Pleasures: The Art and Design of Contemporary Jewellery
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne 
21 April - 26 August 2012

The exhibition explores the essential meanings of jewellery, bypassing traditional perceptions and instead tracing the radical experiments of contemporary jewellers who have challenged the conventions of jewellery design.

The exhibition is curated through a number of themes:  Worn Out – celebrating the experience of wearing jewellery; Linking Links – looking at the ways in which ‘meaning’ and narratives are invested and expressed through sub-themes such as Social Expressions and Creative Systems, and; A Fine Line – offering insight into the origins of contemporary jewellery today, highlighting key instigators of the Contemporary Jewellery Movement that started in the late 1970s.

Among the exhibited artists is the Danish artist Camilla Prasch.

Camilla Prasch
MEGA 2009
red dyed snap fasteness, nylon thread, silicone discs
31 x 11 cm
Collection of the artist
© Camilla Prasch
Photo : Dorte Krogh

Each theme within the exhibition provides an outline of current thinking and offers a unique view on how people use and interact with objects, through which design and production processes come to light. Photography in this context becomes a vital instrument for expressing the ‘wearability’ and the performative aspects of jewellery, and a selection of photographic works are also included in the exhibition.

New techniques and experimentation continue to question the relevance of preciousness, highlighting the shifting values from material worth to the personal associations that jewellery holds. The exhibition celebrates jewellery from the point of view of both the maker and the wearer. It considers the pleasures of wearing jewellery and the many meanings associated with jewellery which are at times unpredictable and, in turn, unexpected.

Unexpected Pleasures displays over 200 works by important Australian and international contemporary jewellers who have pushed conceptual and material boundaries within their practices.

Gerard Vaughan, Director, NGV said: “This is a remarkable and exciting exhibition, brilliantly installed in the Gallery’s newly redeveloped Contemporary Exhibitions space at NGV International.”

This Design Museum, London touring exhibition is curated by Guest Curator and Melbourne jeweller Susan Cohn, and is complemented by a selection of NGV Collection works and private loans.

National Gallery of Victoria
NGV International
180 St Kilda Road
Museum's website: www.ngv.vic.gov.au