I Don't Shine, I Have Something to Say 2026

Artist list

Andrea Barrera, Serena Dendievel, Brigitte Engel, Nina Faivre, Max Valter Fröderberg, Sara Genin, Sara Isabel Juárez Sánchez, Samira Kazemi, Hae Young Kwon, Yuan-Chi Lee, Elisa Mattonai, Kinga Olah, Olha Protsenko, Sara Ramirez, Franziska Reich, Andrea Ruiz, Cristina Saldaña, Shane/Yan Shi, Jaeseob Shin, Luba Sokolovsky

The exhibition is an international project dedicated to contemporary jewellery, a field where objects carry ideas, and materials become a language of their own.

Curated by Eleonora Varotto-HOOROON in collaboration with Lisa Balasso, and promoted by Arte Design Venezia, the exhibition runs until 25 October at the Wonder Q Room, within the Fondazione Querini Stampalia.

At the heart of the exhibition lies a simple question: what makes someone stop in front of a jewel?

For many of the participating artists, the answer begins with the body. Sara Genin creates brass sculptures using the lost-wax casting technique, drawing inspiration from the defensive structures of plants and insects. In her Self Defense series, Serena Dendievel incorporates reclaimed Dremel tools into bronze and brass rings and a bracelet. The works reclaim the body and challenge the male gaze. Jaeseob Shin takes a different approach, creating rings that are deliberately not intended to be worn.

Illness and fragility emerge in other works. Andrea Ruiz presents two rings side by side: Bouquet d’infanzia, made of silver and porcelain, and Bouquet dell’anima malata, crafted in oxidised brass and featuring a medicine bottle surrounded by garnet, opal and tourmaline. Samira Kazemi fills the cracks of an 18-carat gold pendant with crushed mother-of-pearl, transforming an image of rupture into one of hope. For the artist, peace is a wound turned into a path towards light.

War is addressed more directly. Olha Protsenko, who lives and works in Bila Tserkva, Ukraine, presents You Broke My Heart, a brooch in oxidised silver and bronze accompanied by a stark statement: “You truly understand vulnerability when war comes to you.” Max Valter Fröderberg’s PAX I–III comprises three works described as “modern relics”, including a ring featuring a red button worn on the index finger and a child-sized necklace of imitation pearls fastened with a miniature padlock. Together, these objects evoke the vulnerability of innocence and the uneasy relationship between peace, power and protection.

Several artists turn discarded materials into new forms of expression. Hae Young Kwon sourced tangled RCA cables from the Dongmyo flea market and transformed them into a necklace and brooches. Cristina Saldaña binds cactus skeletons with silver, giving fragile natural remains a renewed presence, while Andrea Barrera creates rings and brooches from paper pulp, denim thread and vintage drawings. These works challenge conventional ideas of value, asking what deserves to be preserved and what might become precious when seen differently.

Other artists explore the emotions and experiences that remain hidden beneath the surface. Elisa Mattonai combines bronze and resin in collar necklaces inspired by magma and volcanic craters, evoking the forces and emotions moving beneath the skin. Kinga Olah coats brass and silver with thermochromic pigment: a black brooch turns gold under the warmth of a hand, while seven pins reveal words such as Mine, Stay and Forever. Luba Sokolovsky conceals phrases in Hebrew, Latin and Greek within pendants made from sea stones, copper and leather, inviting a closer encounter with language, memory and meaning.

From adornment to communication
Contemporary jewelry remains unfamiliar to many visitors. I don't shine, I have something to say uses the message behind each work as an entry point, inviting audiences to engage with the piece before considering its materials, techniques or formal qualities. Each jewel is accompanied by a short statement from its maker, printed on a label in the display case.

Contemporary jewelry does not ask to be admired for its beauty, but to be listened to for what it has to say. It is a device that, in sync with our body, speaks about our time.
/curator Eleonora Varotto 

Beginning with a message can make contemporary jewelry more accessible without reducing its complexity. A sentence may spark recognition, curiosity or disagreement, opening a dialogue between the visitor and the object. The jewel becomes not simply something to look at, but a way to approach experiences and questions that extend beyond the exhibition space.

Venice Design Week 2026
I don't shine, I have something to say is part of Venice Design Week 2026, the annual festival bringing designers, artists, institutions and audiences together across Venice. Hosted in the Wonder Q Room at the Fondazione Querini Stampalia, the exhibition places contemporary jewelry research in dialogue with the city’s rich cultural heritage.

The exhibition is supported by an international network of partners, including Thereza Pedrosa Gallery, Galleria Carlo Lucidi, Pistachios Gallery, Alice Floriano Gallery, Revista Atelierul and AdOC Association. Through their involvement, the exhibition also creates opportunities for artists to connect with galleries, professional networks and wider audiences.


Opening hours: 10:00–13:00 and 14:00–18:00 (closed on Mondays)
Admission: Free