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Ilaria Ruggiero

Meet Benchpeg's Contributing Writer Ilaria. As an authority of contemporary and art jewellery, her features aim to cover the current European contemorary jewellery movement. Ilaria Ruggiero Contributing Writer Ilaria Ruggiero is a cultural manager and curator working in the field of contemporary art. She is the founder of Adornment - Curating Contemporary Art Jewelry , a curatorial integrated project dedicated to contemporary art jewelry. It aims to develop the knowledge and consciousness of contemporary jewelry as artistic discipline and as ground search for technique, aesthetics, and philosophy. www.adornment-jewelry.com Meet the rest of the team here . If you'd like

Donald Friedlich: The Glass Alchemist

Donald Friedlich can be called a glass alchemist. Fascinated by its chemical, material and aesthetic properties, he has dedicated the last twenty years of his artistic research to the discovery and exploration of this material, so elusive and challenging writes Ilaria Ruggiero. Among the many achievements, in 2003 he was the first jeweller to be an Artist in Residence at The Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass. In 2004 Friedlich was a featured speaker at an international jewellery conference in Melbourne, Australia and an Artist in Residence in both the Glass and Goldsmithing Programs of Canberra School of Art at

AJW 2019: Athens Jewelry Week 2019

For the fourth consecutive year, Athens Jewelry Week will open its doors at the end of May, with a renewed program, new collaborations and more energy than ever writes Ilaria Ruggiero. As often happens around jewelry festivals, institutional moments will complement an off program that will allow the rediscovery of the city for residents and not only. A new way of looking at the art and history of this ancient civilization, through the filter of the jewel that allows to open up to new meanings, experiences and stimulate the growth of a lively sector in Greece. The objective of this dynamic Athens

Anna Lewis: Stay

In the series Stay, Anna Lewis investigates the aesthetic, symbolic and costume imagery of the Victorian era, starting from an antique corset made of whalebone, linen and silk, dated 1780 writes Ilaria Ruggiero. The corset is an object of conflict and contrast; it represents both control and support. A ubiquitous object and outward symbol of self-control, or social control by men. The corset is a political element, for her it is symbolic of discipline, beauty and sexuality yet hides a dark truth by painfully punishing the body in order to fit this feminine ideal. The restriction of this tight cage, crushing

Jewellery runs Adagio

Adagio is an artistic project about time writes Ilaria Ruggiero in her exhibition review. As photography teaches us, an image is the pure settling for rhythm, the sense of time descending into vision. This is a delicate project that deals with light and movement through the diverse artistic forms of photography and jewellery. A minimalist and conceptual work that is reflected in the dual aesthetic soul of the image and the jewel: both evanescent yet present, stylized and essential. Letizia Maggio's technical and artistic research evolves into a sophisticated and complex narration, which mixes materials such as cotton, silver and

Preciousness Beyond Stones

It is usually thought that the preciousness of a jewel lies in the preciousness of the materials or the stones that have made it... but experimentation in the field of jewellery research and design is instead expanding the boundaries of preciousness in an incredible way, including the combination of more and more alternative materials which are not directly associated with traditional jewellery writes Ilaria Ruggiero. Lodovica Fusco, Italian designer and founder of the COLLANEvrosi brand, for example, in her Sea Bed collection aims at representing the seabed in summer and the creatures to be found there; so that shapes, materials and

Joya Barcelona 2018: An Interview with the Director Paulo Ribeiro

Ilaria Ruggiero met the Director of Joya Barcelona, Paulo Ribeiro, for few questions about what will be most exciting at this years fair, the 10th edition! The 2018 edition of Joya Barcelona is expected to be a celebration of the past ten years of very successful editions, and it is meant to be over the top! JOYA is a platform that during these ten years has served as a space for interaction, debate and meeting point of art jewellery sector in Spain, artists and galleries, private collectors and cultural elite, with a complete program of events, exhibitions, conferences and with

Luz Arias - Nuanced transparency

Luz Arias has been dedicating herself to jewellery since 1999 and during her career she also becomes curator of the "Puro Diseño" fair, thus acquiring a formal sensibility towards both project and creativity writes Ilaria Ruggiero She meets the glass almost by chance becoming her perfect alter ego, as often happens to those who are attracted to and approach this material, so concrete but so elusive. From the moment she starts working with glass, she improves technique and aesthetics in a personal and unique way. A bit in general, and especially in her work, Luz does not aim to dominate

Tracing Memory: Jewellery by Raquel Bessudo

Is our memory in colour or black and white? According to Raquel Bessudo, undoubtedly black and white, with some small emerging details, linear and minimal, in colour. It is certainly an emotional memory, inconsistent, rarefied, dynamic, not objective or even narrative writes Ilaria Ruggiero. Raquel Bessudo is a Jewellery artist based in Mexico City, she designs and composes creations through the use of different materials and elements, such as printed images, pieces of fabric, metal, iron, all organized into compositions with a flavour both naive and delicate. They are like pieces of memory that are sewn and linked together, to enact these memories and bring them back to

OBSESSED!

Over the month of November the biennial jewellery festival OBSESSED! will take place in various cities across the Netherlands writes Ilaria Ruggiero. OBSESSED! unites the best jewellery-related events – museum and gallery exhibitions, talks, fairs, book presentations and artist open studios – into one intriguing programme put together by Current Obsession . The second, 2019 edition of OBSESSED! Jewellery Festival brings together independent artists, galleries and cultural institutions from across the Netherlands in celebration of Jewellery. United. Jewellery. United. is a new paradigm in jewellery discourse. It broadens the scope of what is seen as jewellery in relation to other creative fields and

Contemporary Jewellery at Milano Jewelry Week

Within the first edition of the Milano Jewelry Week, held from the 24th to the 27th of October, the city has been engaged with a program of 80 events held in jewellery ateliers, goldsmith workshops, academies and art galleries, design schools and showrooms and fashion boutiques in the city centre writes Ilaria Ruggiero. Among the Schools that participated, it is worthy to mention The Scuola Orafa Ambrosiana that opened its doors to the public to show the tools and see the students at work. Lectures have been organized about the different techniques of precious jewellery, the realities of the gold buyers

Homage to Earth: Hidden Treasures by Teresa Seabra

During one of her last visits to India, Teresa Seabra met an old man who had been collecting wonderful dendritic agates since his childhood. He then confided her with great sadness, that none of his successors cared about his treasure. She so decided to take some of them, working with these mysterious stones by combining them with others, with tiny Basra pearls and rough little diamonds writes Ilaria Ruggiero. Necklace: Hidden Treasures I, 2016 Oxidized silver, dendritic agates and crystal rock Necklace: Hidden Treasures II, 2016 Gold, dendritic agates and amber Agate is the name given to numerous varieties of banded Chalcedony,

Herbert Hofmann Prize 2020

The International Craft Fair in Munich, planned from March 11th to 15th, was unfortunately cancelled due to the spread of the coronavirus. Nevertheless, for the 47th time the coveted Herbert Hofmann Prize of the SCHMUCK special show was awarded to three goldsmiths and jewellery designers writes Ilaria Ruggiero. The jury, consisting of Prof. Otto Künzli from Munich, Prof. Jantje Fleischhut from Düsseldorf, Dr. Gert Bruckner from the Danner Foundation Munich and Dr. Sabine Runde from Frankfurt, met virtually on Friday, March 13, 2020 to select the three award winners: Melanie Isverding and Katrin Feulner from Germany and Carla Nuis from the

Officine Nora: Preciousness in human relationships

After visiting Officine Nora, the feeling that pervaded me was of an open, free and independent place. Officine Nora is a co-working for jewellery makers and a jewellery shop based in Florence writes Ilaria Ruggiero. It was started in 2014 by the Florentine jewellery designer Margherita de Martino Norante that, after graduating at Alchimia Contemporary Jewellery School, wanted to preserve the practice of comparing ideas and techniques with other jewellery makers in a collaborative and lively environment. A place of creation therefore, but without preconceptions or ideologies. A laboratory certainly directed by professional artists, but especially a space for sharing ideas

Paolo Marcolongo: A dialogue between glass and metals

Paolo Marcolongo is an artist with a unique and multifaceted inspiration, and one of the significant representatives of the Scuola Orafa Padovana writes Ilaria Ruggiero. Paolo Marcolongo is an artist with a unique and multifaceted inspiration, and one of the significant representatives of the Scuola Orafa Padovana . In his jewellery all the complexities of the numerous sculptural, artistic, philosophical and aesthetic references that characterize his creative evolution find a compendium and perfect balance. Nature blossoms in both its sensuality and danger, on the one hand expressed by precious metals which are at times stinging, sharp, edgy, thorny, on the other

Annamaria Zanella: Between Matter and Color

The anthological exhibition ‘ Annamaria Zanella. Between Matter and Color ’ has been extended until 14 July at the San Rocco Oratory in Padua writes Ilaria Ruggiero. Promoted by the Department of Culture of the Municipality of Padua and realized with the contribution of the Cassa di Risparmio di Padova and Rovigo Foundation, the exhibition, curated by Mirella Cisotto Nalon, pays tribute to one of the most complete artists of the contemporary jewellery scene, retracing the milestones of her work through a hundred jewels on display. Born within the Paduan goldsmith's school, Zanella quickly moved towards structurally complex forms extensively experimenting

Beppe Kessler: Plenty of Nothing

The Galerie Rob Koudijs hosts a solo show by Beppe Kessler, as poetic as it is unique. In fact, in this latest work Beppe Kessler explores the so-called natural phenomenon spring snow, typical of Amsterdam, where the artist lives writes Ilaria Ruggiero. Through her language, she stages a wunderkammer in which the wonder of nature becomes art, and life turns into eternity. To a certain extent, the ancient Wunderkammer can be considered as the first stage of the development of the concept of museum. Historically, Naturalia and Artificialia have been those objects with particular or wonderful characteristics that have aroused

SO WHAT! Liquid jewels by Nadine Kuffner

SO WHAT! exhibition, featuring the work by Nadine Kuffner, just closed at Irene Belfi Gallery in Milan and confirms the main intent of the gallery to promote high quality contemporary jewellery artists and goldsmith writes Ilaria Ruggiero. SO WHAT! is also the name of the work with which Nadine graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Monaco, and an obvious provocation. In fact, the artist, fascinated by a material so poorly considered in jewellery as tin, exploits its properties, freely experimenting during the liquid phase of its state. Her hands try to direct the material towards forms she imagines, but

Jewellery & Metal Finalists of the Lowe Craft Prize

Loewe has revealed the names of the 29 shortlisted craftsmen for the 2019 edition of the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize. Each finalist’s work will be exhibited at Isamu Noguchi’s indoor stone garden ‘Heaven’ at the Sogetsu Kaikan in Tokyo, from 26 June to 22 July, 2019 writes Ilaria Ruggiero. The third edition of the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize presents a diverse spectrum of techniques, media and modes of expression and the finalists range from recently graduated and newly emerging artists to well-known names and leaders in their fields. The Loewe Foundation Craft Prize 2019 recognises the shortlisted artists as having

Blowing Truths: A special review on Joya Barcelona 2019

I recently went to hospital to take a test for lactose intolerance. A four-hour test, which consisted of blowing into plastic bags every 30 minutes, after drinking a liquid substance that was as sweet as it was nauseating writes Ilaria Ruggiero. The bags were unfortunately not exciting and fun like those of Christine Jalio who, with intelligence and irony, invites us to expel the daily frustrations of which we are victims, blowing into them, to lighten and in some way to exhale an inner saturation that is wearing us out. Provocative, pop, effective. Compared to the other arts, the peculiarity of About

Luca Tripaldi: A Gothic View

The Gothic and Baroque strand in contemporary ceramics is finding several prominent exponents in the international arena, each characterized by personal tastes and styles writes Ilaria Ruggiero. One of these is certainly Luca Tripaldi, who combines his intense activity as a sculptor and teacher, with continuous research and technical experimentation that is often directed into jewellery. In the past he worked for many years at Mario Audello in Turin as sculptor, making masks and special effects for many opera houses like “Scala di Milano” and “Arena di Verona”, etc. Attention to scenography, detail, theatricality and narrative components are all easily traceable

New York City Jewelry Week: Inclusion and diversity

The week of New York City Jewelry Week was characterized by a flurry of events, exhibitions, symposia, workshops, demonstrations and talks... which marked the days with a fitting rhythm, covering topics and presenting very different types of jewelry writes Ilaria Ruggiero. Together with important partners such as Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), suggestive venues and prestigious interventions, there has been talks of jewelry touching various themes: starting from sustainability with a symposium called Full Circle: A Responsible Jewelry Cycle , which was a one day crash course on the sustainability challenges that face the

Karl & Lisa

For those who are lucky enough to be in Melbourne, Australia, there is still more than a week to visit the Karl & Lisa exhibition at the Funaki Gallery, a double solo show dedicated to two of the most important names in the world of contemporary jewellery writes Ilaria Ruggiero. Lisa Walker necklace, 2019, fabric, stuffing, thread, acrylic paint Lisa Walker necklace, 2019, merino, stuffing, acrylic paint, thread Karl Fritsch and Lisa Walker have been at the forefront of contemporary jewellery for over 20 years, constantly pushing and questioning what jewellery is and can be. They met while studying at the prestigious

RiVa Jewels and the anatomical jewel

A new conception of the decorative spaces of the body is the stylistic fashion of Riva Gioielli that with freshness and simplicity create linear and geometric collections, able to surprise the eye writes Ilaria Ruggiero. Without constructions or conceptualizations, the designer Allegra Pazienti focuses on comfort, functionality and innovative elegance. She tries to surprise with grace, and she succeeds. Sobriety and modernity are the terms that Allegra uses to describe her production. Sober but never banal, the design that characterizes her creations is inspired by the anatomy of the body, chasing and reproducing it. Stars, spikes, triangle, circles, some flowers and

Glass with a world inside: Jewellery by Mio Toyoda

Glass Tradition in Japan is very old and the first glass in Japan is found among archaeological remains dating to the Yayoi period (3rd century B.C. to 3rd century A.D.). Over the centuries and up until the Edo period (1603-1867), glass of any kind was considered a luxury to be enjoyed by society's upper class. In addition to the European imports, much of Japanese early knowledge and technology in regard to glassmaking was derived from China writes Ilaria Ruggiero. While the western influence was strong, the Japanese style in glass retained its identity and spirit. During the 19th century, glassmaking took

Jewellery Is Not Only Jewellery. Finale

Art gallery PUTTI presents the exhibition JEWELLERY IS NOT ONLY JEWELLERY celebrating its 20 year anniversary and simultaneously FINALE writes Ilaria Ruggiero A choral and broad project, in line with the previous conceptual jewellery exhibitions realized during the past years, aimed at expanding the classical understanding of jewellery as well as challenging the boundaries of creativity within the field of jewellery, from different point of view: aesthetically, intellectually and also physically - demonstrating that the object we call jewellery does not have a perceptual frame. 15 artists participates in the exhibition, they are contemporary jewellery thinkers and creators from

The jewel and the experience of the skin: Maria Ignacia Walker

An all-round artist, Maria Ignacia Walker expresses herself with her body and her skin. Her work tells the living experience, in organic matter. There are some factors in particular that haunt her, such as the transformation of the body, the skin, the loss of hair and everything that makes the existence a performative and creative act of continuous change writes Ilaria Ruggiero. Starting from her earliest collections, she explores the body as a door to transcendence, understood as another dimension of existence, but at the same time concrete, sensitive, sensual, touching, present. The skin represents that threshold, a natural and

Vasundhara: An Interaction

I admit to be attracted by those experiments that mix traditions and contemporary life, if they are successful, like the new series of works called An Interaction and created by Vasundhara Mantri, an Indian designer with an international background writes Ilaria Ruggiero. In this case the experimentation is even more interesting, given the use of glass, an unusual material in Indian culture and history. The designer expresses creativity in experimentation as if it were a new awakening, which requires an approach made up of precision, confidence and control: "Art is forged in emotion. Wearable art must follow its own journey. As it

Giulia Savino: Which city belongs to you?

Giulia Savino’s main artistic research explores the concept of identity, ownership and belonging through the representation of city maps writes Ilaria Ruggiero. Giulia Savino’s main artistic research explores the concept of identity, ownership and belonging through the representation of city maps. Her main body of work, called 1: 20.000, is a compilation of maps, a collection of cities in form of jewels. As "the map is not the territory" but just one of the many possible representations of reality, each jewel is a personal interpretation of the city that takes / loses its shape in the interaction with the body. Each

Kritha: The eco of the tradition

It is always interesting to see contemporary designers continuing the tradition. Krithaa is an Indian brand that reinterprets the tradition of Indian craftsmanship with a new look and attitude. It uses and further develops some concepts belonging to the traditional philosophy making it as its own identity, and then elaborate a coherent and original aesthetic writes Ilaria Ruggiero. All characterized by a contemporary look, which uniforms the pieces as well as the visual language. In general, their design philosophy is driven by the idea of ‘adaptive re-use’ and ‘context building’. Each of the designs has one urban collectible; that urban collectible

Wiener Schmucktage 2018 International Festival of Contemporary Jewellery in Vienna

The WIENER SCHMUCKTAGE intensifies public engagement with contemporary jewellery production and awakens their desire to wear jewellery. The compelling specially developed event concept sensitizes the public’s intellect, sense of touch, emotions and sensuality in equal measure writes Ilaria Ruggiero. For the fourth time, around 160 Austrian and international jewellery makers will present their work at 35 locations across Vienna from 6 to 11 November 2018. Over the years the platform has evolved into an international festival of contemporary jewellery in Vienna. In the framework of solo and group exhibitions, workshops (SCHMUCK.FÜHLEN), motto breakfasts (SCHMUCK.SCHMECKEN) and themed guided tours of studios, galleries, shops as

Kelvin J Birk: From the hegemony of value to the freedom of form

Kelvin J Birk loves to explore the concept of value in jewellery, and he does so through the provocation that characterizes his creative process writes Ilaria Ruggiero. His creations are in fact the result of a series of actions to break and pulverise precious stones, which are thus deprived of their first and original form and structure in order to create something new; in some ways the same, but also different. The stones are then mixed together, in some cases with non-precious materials, thus playing with the altered perceptions that such a mixture can create. In this way Kelvin questions what

Suri Jewelry: Memories from Renaissance

The women painted by the great Venetian Masters wear jewelry and precious stones, fabrics from the East, embraced by smoky atmospheres of incense and fragrances writes Ilaria Ruggiero. Since childhood Giulia Vecchiato admired the jewels of the eccentric ladies who live in Venice, as they were amulets to access the past and ancient times. She started very little to build her own jewelry by assembling scrap metal found in her house, seals, scraps of fabrics mounted on curtains’ pendant. Growing up and studing traditional techniques of goldsmith, she started her own journey into the jewelry field, by developing a very

Gabrielle Desmarais - Simple shapes and powerful shades

Colours, fun and lightness define the beautiful jewellery by Gabrielle Desmarais writes Ilaria Ruggiero. Colours, fun and lightness define the beautiful jewellery by Gabrielle Desmarais. Her production ranges from one of kind pieces to limited series creations as the latest colourful Achromat, made of hand-painted and hand-carved Wood. The collection is playful, as the same name suggests: achromatic means ‘without colours’, and it is in fact just a funny provocations because her pieces are everything but achromatic. Simple shapes and powerful shades combined and mixed for an everyday look. We addressed her some questions about her past and background. Where does

Jewelry in a Duet

Laura Volpi’s work is a synthesis of energy, research and matter that takes shape through the elaboration of visual stimuli from our contemporaneity, to create jewels that reveal each a different part of her creative storytelling. She conducts an accurate study of volume and a research of the sculptural shape, to create a jewel that explores the boundaries of movement in a wearable dimension writes Ilaria Ruggiero. She was first influenced by Davide De Paoli, who initiated her to the potentialities of plate sculpture, and by Arnaldo Pomodoro, whom she could meet through a scholarship. During the collaboration with Pomodoro, which

Re-Cover by Daniella Saraya

Daniella Saraya graduated at the Jewelry Department - Shenkar College of engineering and design, and she currently finished the Master’s Degree. The personal and emotional character of her works, places them in the area between design and art. Through questions borrowed from the human psychology she loves to explore and study the boundaries of jewelry’s function and essence writes Ilaria Ruggiero. The Re-Cover collection was first launched on 2013 as a result of a personal deep understanding and awareness on how emotional feelings and physical materials equally behaves in their processes and transformation from one status to another. Daniella uses jewelry and both materials characteristics and technique as

The Shape of Eros

Lore Langendries’ work balances between the unique and the serial with a particular focus on the tactile and physical of artefacts, the behavior of material in combination with digital technology and her own intuitive role as a maker. Central to her work is the use of geometrical forms by showing the essence and beauty of animal hides in their most elementary forms writes Ilaria Ruggiero. Her work focuses on different type of leathers, treated by obtaining pieces always very balanced and minimal, where the living element, the material, becomes strictly connected with the body and its sensuality. I asked her few This [youtube

A pure white avant-garde ceramic jewelry by Raluca Buzura

Raluca Buzura found herself dialoguing with ceramic while expressing her visual interpretation of sculpting the nature writes Ilaria Ruggiero. She comes from the installation field and something very scenographic remains on her approach. The nature is her most important source of inspiration, as everything ranging in everyday life. Her work is a translation in porcelain of her personal experiences, trying to obliterate these traces during the process by simplifying the boundaries between real and abstract, in a swirl of textures and structures from which are foreseen flashes of gold. A mix of very different stylistic contributions merged together allows her to

Nikki Couppee - A pop and gothic flavor

This week we discover the work of a real experimenter in jewelry field, the American jewelry designer Nikki Couppee writes Ilaria Ruggiero. Originally from Pensacola Beach, Florida, she is currently living in Oakland, California. Her work is located in a very special stylistic dimension, between pop culture and gothic flavor, in a mix of very different languages and codes. I addressed her few questions to better understand her world. IR: Where does your passion for jewelry come from? NC: Growing up I used to look in my mom’s jewelry box and inspected and tried things on and loved hearing the stories,

Playful Elegance

Anne Manns has a special fondness for creating jewels to decorate the ears. Her earrings, inspired by nature and especially by vegetables such as peas and aubergines, are characterised by a very clean, bright and warm design, able to climb up the skin with a unique lightness and portability writes Ilaria Ruggiero. An elegant touch characterises her creations, that are developed for one of the most sensual and feminine parts of the body. Not only elegance and brightness, but also irony, playfulness and freshness. Using vegetables as a source of inspiration allows her to always maintain a language which is mobile, down-to-earth earth and everyday.

Karolina Baines: Beauty in Interaction

Not only goldsmith tradition characterizes Karolina Baines’s work. She starts from there to explore the creation through many different techniques like sketches, painting, printmaking and mixed media. She aims at balancing shapes, colours and texture in a very refined and delicate way. Her pieces are always very malleable while keeping a strong and independent sense of movement. I addressed her few questions to better understand her world, writes Ilaria Ruggiero. IR: Where does your passion for jewellery come from? KB: I suppose I think of myself as a designer/maker first, and then as specifically a jewellery designer/maker. I love bringing ideas IR: Have

Danni Schwaag: A long search for pearl

Nacre also known as mother of pearl, is an organic-inorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it also makes up the outer coating of pearls writes Ilaria Ruggiero. Nacre also known as mother of pearl, is an organic-inorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it also makes up the outer coating of pearls. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Danni Schwaag’s obsession for mother of pearl started during her studies in Idar-Oberstein, when she was looking for a pearl necklace – not a classical one. She wanted to do one on her own, being fascinated by the variety of the material, its luster, the sensitivity and brittleness. Visiting all

21 GRAMS What’s the weight of our soul?

21 GRAMS is an experimental jewellery exhibition organized, curated and conceived by Ruudt Peters writes Ilaria Ruggiero. Guo Xin, 1 Gram - Rebound, 2018 Silver plated, stainless steel, jade Sun Jie, W ho are you, 2018 Golden paint, metal, resin Beginning in the 1970's, Ruudt Peters, a pioneering Dutch conceptual jewellery artist, challenged traditional definitions of adornment by pushing the boundaries of context, wearability, materials and presentation. He defines himself as a philosopher and an alchemist, his pieces of jewellery being extensions of a person. Peters Ruudt, L ast Breath, 2018 Silver Glass El-Asmar-Nedda, Transit Vessel, 2018 24K gold Always challenging the

Captivating Brilliance by Peter Schmid

Peter Schmid, world-renowned jewelry maker, is launching his all-new exhibition at Patina Gallery, Captivating Brilliance , inspired by the Santa Fe Opera’s 2018 production of Giacomo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly , writes Ilaria Ruggiero in this exhibition review. The exhibition will open on August 10th at Patina Gallery at 131 West Palace Avenue, Santa Fe. Captivating Brilliance will showcase pieces greatly influenced from the movements of Orientalism and Exoticism that were popular at the time of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly debut. An amazing crossover of inspirations and ideas, on one hand coming from the most current interpretations of Puccini's opera, on the other hand from ancient rituals,

Call for Applications Celeste Prize 2017, 9th edition

The internationally celebrated Celeste Prize for emerging and mid-career artists, is taking its ninth edition with acclaimed writer and curator of London’s Art Night Fatos Ustek, as chief juror to lead this year’s super-jury of international curators and art-critics: George Clark, independet curator; Ovul Durmusoglu, independent curator; Rozsa Zita Farkas, Arcadia Missa; Attilia Fattori Franchini, independent curator; Anna Gritz, Kunst Werke Berlin; Nav Haq, Muhka; Harriet Loffler, Norwich Castle Museum; Louise O'Kelly, BlockUniverse; Ilaria Puri Purini, Contemporary Art Society; Filipa Ramos, Art Agenda, Vdrome; Emiliano Valdes, Museum of Modern Art Medellin; Ben Vickers, Serpentine Gallery. Prizes The total awards sum