CLUSTER JEWELLERY SHOP

THE EXHIBITORS

At Collect you chaired a panel discussion on contemporary jewellery. What key takeaways were there from the conversation and what future discussions are needed / desired for contemporary jewellery?

The concluding remarks from the discussion was that there needs to be more conversation on the topic of contemporary jewellery. Plus ideally, that it’s recorded and shared. For there to be a critical commentary with any sort of validity – I feel it needs to be on an international platform. Collect was a fantastic context because of the critical mass of international galleries and artists as well as visitors from outside the UK. Of course, only so many people can fit into a room, so this is where online platforms are so important. I chose the panellists because I felt they could represent a discussion across the world: Susan Cummins, Founder of US based Art Jewellery Forum and former gallery owner, Dan Piersinaru, Founder of Bucharest based Author Fair and Magazine as well as award winning jeweller Silvia Weidenbach who has had significant exhibitions in Continental Europe and beyond. They were there to unpick some of the tensions of the jewellery world – there were mixed views and I certainly learnt a lot. There was agreement that jewellery should be articulated within the broader cultural environment of art and design as an artform in its own right in addition to jewellery and jewellers playing an important place as collaborator on integrated projects. The importance (or lack of it) of jewellery’s role on the body certainly demonstrated some opposing views… It was great to have a panel that displayed some of the dichotomy of the sector.

With international jewellery fairs such as Munich Jewellery Week, and Joya Barcelona, what is your opinion in the balance between international and national fairs for jewellery? If the jewellery sector is more widely recognised through an international market, how might artists unable to participate in these fairs get their work highlighted and recognised?

The geography of marketplace was something we discussed during the panel at Collect. The environment for a jewellery market to thrive is complex but fundamentally needs a collection of creative people, a community to create the context and carefully build market platforms. Individuals like Dan Piersinaru (Autor), Paulo Ribeiro (Joya) and the people behind organisations like Klimt02 are really critical to building the market. The opportunity of participating in a fair at home or abroad will have many considerations for a maker and of course these fairs are selected and will only be able to support a portion of the jewellers that wish to participate. I think this is where initiatives like Cluster are really benefitting makers. The marketplace needs a range of options for both makers and an audience to access those makers. A really broad range of live and online platforms to collectively inform and connect with a range of audiences is what will help the marketplace grow.

What successes do you see within the contemporary jewellery market in widening consumer interest and appeal? Gallery SO and Studio Fusion Gallery are amongst some in London exhibiting contemporary jewellery. Compared with high-end fine jewellery, these galleries could be seen as far and few between - what is your view on this and do you have any projections on the evolution of contemporary jewellery for the future?

Galleries that are supporting really innovative and challenging work of selected artists are, by definition, going to occupy a smallish section of the market. They are fundamentally about challenging the status quo so will always be opposed to the mainstream. Mega brands celling fine jewellery and galleries selling the work of artists makers do not compare. However, there is a huge amount of really exciting contemporary jewellery using precious metals and stones, those promoted by Goldsmiths fair for example, which are a key voice in our contemporary jewellery story. It’s not as simple as defining ‘high-end fine jewellery’ and work shown in galleries. I suppose that’s what makes it such an interesting field. There are a huge number of jewellery success stories around the world. I really value the role of the gallery in supporting an artist’s career through time as well as introducing new talent. These specialist galleries stretch across the globe. It’s worth looking at the online listings of AJF and Klimt02 for galleries (and makers) to research – as well as interviews with key players.

What do you feel the future holds for jewellery design?

My hope is that people become more courageous in what they buy. We’ve seen some fantastic purchases through the years of Collect by private clients and for UK and International museum collections. I hope is that this ambition grows. Having an audience that buys more experimental or unusual works supports artists and makers working today. It supports their career and stretches them creatively. In order for this to happen we need to collectively inform and engage a broad audience on the value of the maker and their practice.

What are you currently working on and what does the future hold for you and your practice?
I’m delighted to be working on Collect again. We’ll be going into our second year in our new home of Somerset House in February 2021. This neoclassical architectural context has inspired some really elegant curation from our galleries and I’m looking forward to seeing how this evolves as we bed into the space. I’ve recently started writing and I hope to continue that later this year as I’ve really enjoyed the learning that comes from this. It’s also an entirely different pace and type of working to a fair and I really enjoy variety. I’ve got another couple of potential projects in discussion stages. I’m going to see how the marketplace evolves as we all emerge from this current climate, in what we hope is the post Covid world. Let’s see what the future brings.

Daniella Wells is an independent consultant.
http://daniellawells.co.uk
inst: wellsdaniella