Category Archives: Stories
Hosted by Nadège Totah, the 6th Edition of GemGenève is proud to welcome new talented jewellery designers who will have the opportunity to exhibit their shining creations in a dedicated space. Their jewellery art offer a fascinating glimpse into a very different universe of ideas and inspirations, a world of innovation and ingenuity that highlights each creator’s individuality.
With very different styles and techniques, each designer draws inspiration from the mysteries of nature in order, as they explain, to create collections imbued with the powerful symbolism that has always been an essential element of jewels. All of these designs share a common focus: the meaning, message and role of the jewel, far beyond the purely ornamental, giving them a value that exceeds their intrinsic worth. Above all, the gemstone is and has always been a talisman to protect and invoke goodwill; a talisman to keep close to us at all times, reminding us to live in a harmony of body, heart and soul.
Emerging Talents
Fred Fa, Belgium
An outstanding designer, Fred Fa does all his sketches, technical drawings and gouache jewellery designs by hand. His brilliant craftsmanship, sculptural abilities and technological knowhow allow him to create extraordinary, bespoke pieces – including masterworks enhanced and set with exceptional stones.
Aso Leon, China
Aso Leon is an award-winning jewellery artist in China who has been working in the jewellery industry for 27 years. In 1995, when he first came into contact with jewellery, he found that it stimulated his curiosity.
Aso pursued unique design concepts and immersed himself in exploring nature. He discovered that not everything in nature is perfect; there is also incompleteness. He uses this sense of incompleteness to reflect a different kind of beauty in his creative process. He moved into titanium in 2005, applying it to high jewellery, and becoming known as the ‘Prince of Titanium’ in the Chinese jewellery industry.
ASO has been engaged in OEM jewellery production in Panyu, China for more than 20 years, and has now established himself as a jewellery artist on the international stage, transforming ‘Made in China’ into ‘Created in China’.
Denise Cassou Couture Jewelry, Brazil
As an impassioned traveler, photographer, filmmaker and designer, Denise has always sought out art and fashion as sources of inspiration for her numerous projects.
For many years she designed and made jewellery for herself, her daughters and close friends. From this universe so rich in details and inspiring stories a brand was born, its artistic expression focused on unique jewels and a love of design.
The understanding that jewels are laden with history and special moments as they are handed down from one generation to another inspires Denise. Femininity, delicacy, elegance and modernity are present in all of her pieces.
Wallis Hong, Spain
Wallis is a self-taught multidisciplinary jewellery artist based in Spain. The China-born artist’s mother is a musician and art collector, and it was his mother’s aesthetic influence that made Wallis sensitive to art and jewellery from an early age.
Wallis studied sculpture and painting at the Madrid Academy of Art. As a perfectionist by temperament, he always seeks to learn as many jewellery-making skills as he can from the very best master jewellers around the world, with the aim of perfecting the structure of his jewellery pieces.
His presence at GemGenève in November 2022 was noticed by the international press; Wallis has been in great demand ever since. His iconic ‘Thorn shell’ earrings have been added to the permanent collection of the Shenzhen Jewellery Museum in China.
New Designers
Austy Lee, Hong Kong
Austy’s jewellery is the perfect example of how jewellery should be – bold, psychedelic, sculptural and complex. The inspirations and styles of Austy’s collections are derived from an eclectic mix of themes, from pop-punk and edgy, to religion, antique and fashion. The use of colourful and rare gemstones combined with Austy’s unique talent creates truly exquisite, meticulous works of wearable art.
‘aUSTY Lee’ is an eponymous brand of high jewellery, with excellent craftsmanship and fashion-forward designs, bringing people refreshing, yet exclusive, one-of-a-kind art jewellery pieces.
With extensive experiences in the Jewellery industry, Austy feels that Jewelleries should be appreciated and owned by not only the noble ones, but also every single family from different levels of the society. aUSTY LEE is the brand which creates a new era of high jewellery through its antique yet edgy design by using 18K Gold and various precious gemstones, bringing every family a piece of unique art jewellery with reasonable price as a family heirloom.
A.win Siu, China
With the mindset and vision of an illustrator, A.win Siu expresses and visualizes emotions and sensations through the use of bold colours alongside combinations of metal and minerals, creating a peculiar and fantastic world within each piece.
Founded in November 2017, the jewellery brand A.win Siu has designed many jewellery items over the years, each with its distinctive personal style, and has participated in many well-known international exhibitions. Its first time at GemGenève is an opportunity not to be missed.
Serendipity Jewelry, France
Serendipity Jewelry, one of the Emerging Talents at the November 2022 edition, will be back in May 2023 in the ‘New Designers’ category. Serendipity Jewelry was founded in Paris by Christine Chan in 2017. She discovered her passion for stones during a trip to Australia over 10 years ago – a chance encounter that led to the birth of a beautiful brand.
With Serendipity Jewelry, Christine Chan presents a beautiful collection of pieces in a blend of respect for nature, respect for freedom and respect for oneself, with the result that each piece of jewellery has its own perspective, temperature and depth.
Tenzo, Estonia
Founded in 1996, the firm has evolved from a treasure trove of the rarest gemstones on the planet into a house of exquisite jewellery. TENZO brings together art and design, sublime proportions, emotive colours, natural gemstones and impressive workmanship.
Alexander Tenzo and his team of world-class craftsmen explore refined techniques, etched and patinated gold settings, seamless joints and delicate, airy gemstone settings, blending their own warm, rich, softly burnished gold tones and working with soft yet tough alloys as they add finesse and intricate detail to their one-of-a-kind jewellery and artwork.
TENZO breathes new life into almost-forgotten glyptic art, cameos, intaglios, and strikingly realistic carved stone figures, animals and flowers. TENZO collections are displayed in private art exhibitions and museums.
Location, Date, Hours
May 11 – 14, 2023
Opening Hours: 10 a.m. – 6.30 p.m.
Palexpo Hall 1, Route François-Peyrot 30, 1218 – Le Grand-Saconnex, Geneva, Switzerland
Entrance through Gate 1
Press Conference will be held at 11:00 a.m and Preview at 2 p.m. on May 10, 2023
Cash desk closes at 5.30 p.m. on May 14
Price: CHF 50.00, valid for the entire duration of the exhibition; admission free for under-18s and students on presentation of their student card.
GemGenève represents a unique hub where jewellery designers, dealers in precious stones, retailers, collectors, connoisseurs and buyers both professional and private can all gather under the same roof. Over the course of four days, GemGenève offers an opportunity to acquire exceptional pieces and be inspired by a community of specialists in the field of gemology and jewellery. It’s a laboratory of creativity and innovation, bringing together recognized designers and emerging talents, a world of design, of rare gems, of antique and contemporary jewellery. Created by exhibitors for exhibitors, GemGenève offers a platform for expression and exchange that encompasses passion, expertise and education.
Story submitted by Agence PUR PR. The World Art News (WAN) is not liable for the content of this publication. All statements and views expressed herein are only an opinion. Act at your own risk. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission. © The World Art News
50 years after his death, Picasso is more alive than ever
Today, 8 April 2023, marks half a century since the death of Pablo Picasso. We review some of the exhibitions dedicated to the painter that are being held -or will be held- in 2023.
Source: various museums · Image: Left: Pablo Picasso in 1908. Photo by RMN-Grand Palais // Right: Pablo Picasso in 1962. Source: Vea y Lea, Argentina.
Since February 8, the Musée de l’Homme-Muséum national d’histoire naturelle in Paris is presenting “Picasso and the Prehistory”, an exhibition that includes paintings, sculptures, drawings, ceramics and engraved pebbles. And since February 19, the Fondation Beyeler in Basel is hosting “Picasso. The Artist and the Model: Last Paintings”, presenting a selection of ten late paintings showing images of artist and model. From 17 March to 18 June 2023, the Albertina Museum in Vienna shows 18 paintings from the Museum’s own collection and a total of over 70 works by “a man who, even during his own lifetime, had become the archetype of the modern artist”, as the Museum states in a press release. Starting today, the Musée Picasso, Antibes, is presenting “Picasso 1969-1972: The End of the Beginning”. From July 13 to October 15, 2023, the Collection Lambert in Avignon will present “Picasso à la Collection Lambert en Avignon 50 ans après”.
Of course, several museums in Spain (Picasso’s native country) are dedicating exhibitions to the artist. From March 23 to June 25, the Museo de Bellas Artes de A Coruña (the city where Picasso lived from 1891 to 1895, before moving to Barcelona) presents “Picasso, blanco en el recuerdo azul” (Picasso, white in blue memory). From March 29 to July 2, the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid, presents “Picasso. Masterpieces from the Nahmad Collection.” Starting today and until September 10, the Museo Picasso in Málaga organizes the exhibition “Picasso: matter and body”. From June 13 to September 17, 2023, the Museo Nacional del Prado hosts “Picasso – El Greco”, an exhibition that examines the relationship between these two revolutionary painters. From 4 October 2023 to 14 January 2024, the Museo Thyssen in Madrid presents “Picasso. The Sacred and the Profane”, an exhibition that includes around 30 works. And from 14 November 2023 to 4 March 2024, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía will host “Picasso 1906. The Great Transformation”, an exhibition that “aims to shed light on the artist’s attention to the body and its construction from a contemporary perspective around 1906, a key year in Picasso’s production and life.”
In America, the Mint Museum, Charlotte, is hosting “Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds” (February 11 – May 21, 2023), an exhibition of more than 40 works spanning Picasso’s full career. From May 12 to August 6, 2023, the Guggenheim Museum will present “Young Picasso in Paris”, defined as “an intimate exhibition comprising a total of ten paintings and works on paper executed during Pablo Picasso’s introduction to the French capital”. From October 1, 2023, to February 10, 2024, the Museum of Modern Art will present “Picasso in Fontainebleau”, an exhibition “examining three months in a legendary artist’s career, when he created an astonishingly varied body of work between July and September 1921 in the town of Fontainebleau, France”, as the MoMA states in a press release. And from October 6, 2023, to January 7, 2024, the recently reopened Hispanic Society Museum & Library will present “Picasso and La Celestina.”