Past Present. The Grammar of Jewellery by Maria Rosa Franzin & Gigi Mariani

Artist list

Maria Rosa Franzin, Gigi Mariani

Jewellery is a language and as such is alive in so far as it represents the people who use it. This exhibition aims to focus on the many forms of expression through jewellery. The two goldsmith artists presented, with different personal and professional backgrounds, are however both interpreters of that way of thinking and feeling that is typical of the Italian culture. Italy has always been a melting pot where past and future are fused together, where tradition and innovation are in dialogue, often generating conflicts that can open up new avenues. The rediscovery of ancient techniques and skillful use of existing construction methods characterize the work of Maria Rosa Franzin and Gigi Mariani. Their works show the peculiarities of the Italian language, different for rules and concepts from that of other countries. In other words, we could say "I speak jewellery".


About the Artists:
Maria Rosa Franzin, who is part of the School of Padua, remains faithful to the use of traditional materials typical of the jewellery world, such as gold and silver, even if with the introduction of colour in recent years. In her latest works, a three-dimensionality already present in the past is accentuated, made of hidden, personal interior spaces. They are introspective works that reveal strength and fragility, light and shadow, presenting a double, inner and outer space, in dialogue with the surrounding world. These are intimate and individual spaces that the artist chooses to share.  The introduction of rapid and intense signs, along with the choice of colour, suggest a state of mind. These traces take on the ideal value of an experience, a memory, an emotion.
 
 
Gigi Mariani's works express a strong primordial nature, determined by the skillful use of niello, a technique once used extensively in Europe in the Middle Ages as an inlay on engraved or etched metal. The artist has personalized this skill by completely covering the surface of the metal with this mixture, as if to conceal the underlying preciousness. His works recall barren, arid lands attacked by the elements, evoking a distant geological era. The forms are linear and compact and in spite of being irregular, maintain a significant sense of proportion and balance. Some of the works present  gold inserts, bringing us back to an idea of preciousness.