Contemporary Pearl Jewellery

Above: Mariko Mori, Planets Brooch, 2013. 18 ct white gold, South Sea pearls, Akoya pearls, broken glass bead, aurora bead, v glass bead and crystal. edition of 10. Photograph courtesy of Louisa Guinness Gallery.

Through the years, pearl jewellery has had many incarnations. We saw it celebrated for its precious value in the Edwardian Era (think of the pearl jewellery of the Crawley women in Downton Abbey), acclaimed for its design and craftsmanship in the Art Nouveau period, and much sought-after for its rarity, particularly natural pearls, in recent times.

But here and now in 2013, Japanese artist Mariko Mori’s reinterpretation of pearls sets itself apart on many levels. Pearls, metals, and craftsmanship are utilized to serve an idea, rather than applied as ends for themselves. Artistic expression becomes more important than the value of the precious pearls. Whereas traditional jewellery aspires to be aesthetically appreciated as it completes one’s look, Mori’s jewellery instead triggers the wearer to do and be more: to explore its possible meanings, references  and in the process, to gain pleasure as one becomes more self aware and reflective.

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All in all, the creative act is not performed by the artist alone..the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contribution to the creative act.

—Marcel Duchamp

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This autumn the pearl jewellery created by Mariko Mori  are on display in an exhibition entitled “Mariko Mori. Planets 2013 “at the Louisa Guinness Gallery in London. Mori is widely regarded as the most important artist to have emerged from Japan in the past 50 years. Her work is steeped in mysticism. She explores the interconnectedness of all things: cosmic, terrestrial, conscious, subconscious, past, future, scientific and spiritual.

Mariko Mori, Planets Earrings, 2013
18 ct white gold, Akoya pearls, v glass bead, aurora bead and crystal
edition of 10
Photograph courtesy of Louisa Guinness Gallery.

Defined by balance and harmony, “Planets” echoes the spiritual quality of Mori’s body of work. Referencing ancient Jomon culture and cosmology, it is a meditation on time, space and nature.The circular form of each piece nods to the Jomon understanding of time as circular.

Mariko Mori, Planets Necklace, 2013
18 ct white gold, South Sea pearls, Akoya pearls, opal glass, aurora bead and pearl crystal
edition of 5
Photograph courtesy of Louisa Guinness Gallery.

The considered placement of each pearl and bead on its white gold orbit in the present suite suggests order in an infinitely variable universe.

Worn around the neck, hanging from the ears or pinned above the heart, “Planets”encourages a personal reflection on our place in the cosmos.

Louisa Guinness, founder of the Louisa Guinness Gallery has opened the first exhibition space dedicated exclusively to jewellery.”We are the first gallery to deal exclusively in artist-made jewellery,” says Guinness. “We don’t work with jewellers, only artists whose primary medium is either painting or sculpture. We offer artists a new form in which to express themselves and at the same time challenge them to adapt their artistic language to the demands of scale and function.”

The launch of the Louisa Guinness Gallery reflects a growing interest amongst art collectors for jewellery made by artists and for investment pieces which can be worn as a piece of statement jewellery or enjoyed as miniature sculptures. Whist it is not being worn, it is a piece of art independent of function, at home on a coffee table or in a dressing room.

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Louise Guinness Gallery is located at 45 Conduit Street in Mayfair, London.  The gallery is exhibiting new works by contemporary artists such as Anish Kapoor, Conrad Shawcross, Sam Taylor-Wood and Antony Gormley as well as pieces by 20^th century masters such as Picasso, Calder, Man Ray and Fontana.