Parties under bridges

Artist list

Gemma Draper

A new generation of Spanish artists is producing remarkably sculptural jewellery. After first having exhibited pieces by Javier Moreno Frías, Galerie Rob Koudijs now shows new work by Gemma Draper.

Following her education at the famous Escola Massana in Barcelona, Gemma Draper first studied a long periode in Lapeenranta in Finland and has spend the past year at Cranbrook University, America. Each country made a remarkable contribution to her repertory of expression. The United States not only brought more freedom in the handling of scale, but also an amazing exuberance in shape and finishes. This work will be on display in the exhibition Parties under bridges.

For years Gemma Draper has been investigating the fusing of dissimilar elements into apparently obvious, new entities. This simple interference often results in a striking eloquence which is hard to define. Her new jewellery evolved from drawings about fenomena like meeting, dialogue and mirroring. From a wallpiece consisting of 44 pairs of small enameled panels, she developed a group of exuberant monumental objects. Even though they often defy the limits of wearability, the rich colours and associative force makes them hard to resist. The quality of these objects make the use of catagories like sculpture, object or jewellery obsolete.

Ward Schrijver