Also known as jewellery

The project
Contemporary jewellery, in France and abroad, is undergoing a spectacular evolution: in recent years, it has both staked out new territories of experimentation, and claimed a pivotal position between art, design and traditional craft.

While the precursors challenged our parochial reverence for precious materials, younger jewellers are making their mark by adopting a critical stance towards the medium itself, and fueling their research with conceptual nuggets originated mostly outside the field of craft: they invite us, in turn, to look at other disciplines to question the accepted definition of jewellery.

The title of this exhibition - also known as jewellery - underlines the specificity of contemporary jewellery, and the ambiguity inherent to a craft-based, boundary-pushing practice: the work selected is thus both alien to its tradition, and well versed in its history.

The selection for this touring show focused on the work of 17 contemporary jewellers - French, or working in France - who together make a convincing case for the vitality of this rather under-exposed part of the European contemporary jewellery community. It is the first time that such a selection of contemporary French makers is shown abroad.