CANCELED / Firenze Preziosa 2020

Preziosa is a cultural project, an annual exhibition dedicated to Contemporary Jewellery. Every year the artistic approach to the complex subject of jewellery is explored through a specific concept and with the selection of artists from the international scene. The project, imagined, managed and coordinated by LAO, Le Arti Orafe Jewellery School in Florence, started in 2005, and has quickly become one of the worldwide most important events devoted to contemporary jewellery.
Preziosa can be considered as an explorative path always in motion.

The Aims:
Connecting worlds - Artistic research, cultural identity, new technologies. New competencies, new skills. The role of innovative technologies in contemporary crafts. Wisdom and patience in traditional jewellery. Ethical jewellery. Sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste: the jewellery senses.

The program is already well underway and includes like every year many exhibitions, conferences, meetings, workshops, and of course some moments of socialization, concerts and a few glasses of good wine.


Invited artists:
The list of artists is still incomplete and the program is continuously updated.

• Italian design in jewellery: the research by Carla Riccoboni.
• The great technical and creative skill in the contemporary goldsmith technique: Giovanni Corvaja.
• The contemporary Japanese jewel: Kazumi Nagano.
• The use of ancient art in the creation of contemporary objects: Suk Chun Oh.
• Patience and wisdom applied to recycle for the creation of impressive jewels: Sam Tho Duong.
• Modern silverware objects, from England: Cóilín Ó Dubhghaill.
• Italian goldsmiths Barbara Paganin.

Jewellery on loan from the Bollmann Collection in Vienna:

• Friedrich Becker
• Yasuki Hiramatsu
• Bruno Martinazzi
• Francesco Pavan
• Fritz Maierhofer
• Peter Chang
• Peter Skubic
• Ruudt Peters
• Gerd Rothmann
• Manfred Bischoff

Exhibition of the artists selected for PREZIOSA YOUNG 2020

• Elwy Schutten
• Chia-Hsien Lin
• Dongyi Wu
• Jess Tolbert
• Marie Masson
• Rachael Colley
• Zihan Yang

Guest projects:

• Talking Jewellery, A project curated by jewellery historians Maria Cristina Bergesio and Roberta Bernabei. A selection of jewels from two important European contemporary jewellery collections: Pilar Garrigosa and Paul Derrez. 
• Jewels from another world. The nuns of the Orthodox monastery of Tbilisi, just like in the monasteries of the past, maintain in their laboratories the habit of producing objects of art of different types, including small pendants in gold and fired enamels that reproduce typical subjects of the icons. Two sisters from this monastery will come for FJW, to show their creations and give demonstrations of work.
• 25 reasons why to wear Jewellery, presentation of the Italian edition of the book by Barbara Schmidt. The translation and the Italian edition are curated by LAO-Le Arti Orafe Jewellery School, as a tribute to the special personality and professionalism of Barbara, and to the friendship that binds the school to the author.
• A journey to Florence. Project/exhibition by Koen Jacobs, winner of PREZIOSA young 2019, and artist in residence at LAO.
• An exhibition project by Olga Zobel Biro, Biro gallery in Munich.
• A tribute to the Florentine history. A large selection of objects from the Salimbeni company archive, with unbelievable, fantastic engraved and enamelled silver and gold coffin, boxes, eggs, clocks, etc.. An example of how a company with a strong identity and an international clientele of the highest level, can contribute to the maintenance of traditional high quality activities, distributing the work to external laboratories that preserve unsurpassed competences and skills.

Lectures
Conference days are one of FJW's strengths.
Artists, curators, jewellery historian, technicians, teachers are invited, for a range of topics able to attract people with different interests.

• Maria Cristina Bergesio, art historian.
• Roberta Bernabei, art historian.
• Giovanni Corvaja, goldsmith artist.
• Barbara Schmidt, design management.
• Cóilín Ó Dubhghaill, artist goldsmith.
• Céline Robin, curator, LA Joaillerie par Mazlo, Paris.
• Barbara Brocchi, designer.
• Maria Laura La Mantia, art historian.
• Pilar Garrigosa, jewellery collector, artist and gallery owner.
• Paul Derrez, jewellery collector, artist and gallery owner.
• Olza Zobel Biro, gallery owner.
• Ke Ning Ma, jewellery collector and designer.
• Koen Jacobs, artist goldsmith.
• Nun Isadora, The Orthodox Monastery in Tbilisi.

Workshop
Will be held by some of the invited artists, and hosted in the LAO laboratories and classrooms or in the LAO premises in Palazzo Capponi/Bordi Foundation.


.... and much more! Other artists and curatorial exhibitions will be gradually included in the program: stay tuned. Lao offers hospitality and free participation to curators and invited artists. Curators, gallery owners, artists interested in proposing their participation, are invited to contact us.


Keywords:
Connecting worlds - artistic research, cultural identity, new technologies.
New competencies, new skills. The role of innovative technologies in contemporary crafts.
Wisdom and patience in traditional jewellery.
Ethical jewellery.
Sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste: the jewellery senses.