Behind Van Cleef & Arpels’ first ever Oceanic exhibition with Remix Publisher Tim Phin
The art of movement has always been emblematic of Van Cleef & Arpels' artistic virtues; delicate dances of craftmanship, and elegance that endures, and now this has been captured in an exquisite touring exhibition that officially opened to the public last week in Sydney. For Alexandrine Maviel-Sonet, Van Cleef & Arpels’ Director of Patrimony and Exhibitions, there is a liveliness synonymous with Van Cleef & Arpel's creations that needs to be captured. ‘In our collection,’ she shares with Remix, ‘flowers are blooming, animals are facetious and bows inspired by couture unfold in a loop. We wanted to highlight how the Maison’s designers and craftsmen evoked motion in their creations—movement that is by nature ephemeral is captured in our jewellery pieces and becomes eternal.’
Shaped by four chapters that bookend the works, Human Odessy, Nature Alive, Elegance, and Abstract Movements, the exhibition itself responds to recurrent inspiration sources of the house, which is a curated selection of more than 100 pieces from the Maison’s 3000-piece strong collection. ‘We aimed at presenting the pieces that epitomise the movement through their composition, the use of asymmetry, the three-dimensional designs and the choice of the motifs,’ Alexandrine shares.
In person, the high jewellery will be complemented by archival documents and sketches—fundamental to understanding the Maison’s creative process. ‘It is always impressive to see that the final jewellery piece corresponds exactly to the drawing made by the studio at the beginning of the creative process,’ Alexandrine explains. These sketches will be displayed alongside ancient advertisements, capturing the essence and demands of jewellery houses over the decades.
The Art of Movement can be found in Sydney this season: it is a complimentary exhibition, officially open to the public from late last week until May 8 in the historic Campbell’s Stores in The Rocks, celebrating almost a decade for the Maison on Australian soil.
According to Alexandrine, visitors to the exhibition—hopefully, including all of us—will be led into a dreamlike world of movement and harmony, where jewellery creations seem to come to life. The ultimate endnote is a discovery of how the Maison’s most celebrated craftsmen have transformed moments into eternal forms.
After all, as she tells us, this exhibition is big on the details, as it highlights the persuasive motion rendered in the Maison’s works. ‘I hope that this journey through the craftsmanship of the Maison and the poetry of the exhibited pieces will convince the public that high jewellery is an art, and that these pieces fully belong to the decorative arts.’
That’s a sentiment we can get behind entirely, and one that was echoed by Van Cleef & Arpels Oceania’s Managing Director, Julie To. In conversation with Remix Publisher Tim Phin at the exhibition’s opening, she says, ‘The exhibition is a great way to open ourselves to the public even more—to bring that proximity and to be able to translate a little bit about this mysterious world of high jewellery.’
And on its significance? ‘We're bringing over 100 pieces of this patrimony to Australia. A lot of them have never been to the country before, and even some of them I've never seen before, which is really fascinating,’ Julie shares.
A must-visit exhibition for anyone with an affinity for fine jewellery, we think.
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