Alternatives

Maria Rosa Franzin - Gigi Mariani

Just as language is a set of rules that represent the culture and the way of life of a people, in the same way jewellery is a set of conventions which are also an expression of a vision that is characteristic of a nation. For both, it is a constant interplay and alternation of rules, conventions and customs that come from the past to describe the present. Jewellery is a language and as such is alive insofar 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 profiles, 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".

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, in recent years, of resins that confer colour to the works. Characteristic of her way of working, is the almost intangible use of gold on the surface of blackened or white silver, small fragments that catch the light so as to reveal the beauty and splendor of the colour. Her jewelry often presents a two-ply surface, and has a further three-dimensionality with elements that protrude from the surface, so as to create interesting shadow effects.

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. Mariani has personalized this skill by completely covering the surface of the metal with this mixture, as if to conceal the underlying preciousness. His work evokes the earth's crust attacked by the elements. The forms are linear, compact, in spite of being irregular, and express a great force, while maintaining a significant sense of proportion and balance.

Past Present