The display showcases the relationship between jewellery and functional sculpture from a distinctly female perspective, including several practitioners who bridge the gap between the two worlds. French artist Michèle Lamy displays a range of jewellery from the HUNROD series, designed with Loree Rodkin – a fierce collection of finger armour that explores symbols of the Chinese zodiac, crafted from white and yellow gold and ethical diamonds. Alongside these, Lamy exhibits work produced with her other regular collaborator, Rick Owens, such as the patinated bronze Hunstool Silver.
Aki Cooren and her creative collaborator Arnaud Cooren present a selection of pendants, rings, earrings and bracelets that form part of the Tiss-Tiss collection, an award-winning body of work that blends metal and fabric into highly finessed artworks. Aki grew up in Tokyo and studied interior and product design at the Ècole Camond in Paris. Complementing the jewellery pieces are the patinated aluminium seat Tiss-Tiss Fauteuil Black and two lighting pieces from the Ishigaki Lamp series.
Historically relevant pieces by renowned French metalworker Line Vautrin include a silvered bronze powder case, a gilded bronze jewellery box and two brooches with encrusted mirrors embedded in Vautrin’s own uniquely invented resin material, Talosel. Vautrin’s works defined Parisian Neo-Romantic chic in the 1950s and 60s. The display also features her Reflective sculpture, Soleil à Pointes n° 4, a sculptural mirror representing the sun and featuring a repetitive pattern resembling Inca symbols.
Emerging design names, newly represented by Carpenters Workshop Gallery, include Jane Schmitt, whose rings, bracelets, necklaces and brooches resemble hybrid and imaginatively sculptural shapes, and Alina Alamorean, whose black patinated silver and bronze works draw from occult, supernatural and otherworldly references. French artist Léa Mestres, meanwhile, exhibits in the UK for the first time, showing works that embody her ethos of bringing joy to design, such as lamps like Nene and Elizabeth, which take a playful approach to texture, colour and materiality.
The selection also includes jewellery by Sylvie Auvray, Hermien Cassiers, Ane Christensen, Alice Cicolini, Ute Decker, Sonia Delauney, Jacqueline Rabun, Kayo Saito, Cindy Sherman and Caroline Van Hoek, and functional sculptures by Alexandra Batten (Batten and Kamp), Ingrid Donat, Najla El-Zein, Lonneke Gordijn (Studio DRIFT) and Simone Prouvé. Together, the works reflect Carpenters Workshop Gallery’s commitment to female artists and designers who highlight the intersection between jewellery and sculptural design within the broader field of contemporary craftsmanship.
