Place Vendôme, in Paris, an exhibition celebrates the union of art and jewelry

The Repossi jewelry house, known for its minimalist creations, has given carte blanche to six visual artists to draw inspiration from its emblematic Antifer jewelry line launched ten years ago.

Leaning over the sewing machine, Florence Grundeler launches into what looks like “a Sufi dance”: “I prick the fabric at one point, then I twirl and twirl it”, so that the thread traces improvised swirls on it, she explains. Sometimes the machine resists, you have to stay firm. "It's a conversation between her and me," says the artist. For Repossi, the most minimalist of the jewelry houses on Place Vendôme, Florence Grundeler, who wears little jewelry in life, has imagined six works. The thread, white, black or copper – an echo of pink gold, the brand's signature – invites itself on white wallpaper drowned in midnight blue ink or on assembled layers of tarlatan, this solid fabric of cotton which, in the 20th century, could compose petticoats.

Like her, five other artists have agreed to respond to an order from Repossi: the result of their creations can be seen – and for sale – from July 6 at Amélie, Maison d'art, the address of their gallery owner, Amélie du Chalard, a beautiful bright space overlooking a tree-lined courtyard, in the Odéon district of Paris. For the six participating visual artists, only one instruction: take as a starting point the emblematic shape of the jeweler's Antifer collection. Gold jewels whose curve – most often a circle – bristles with a rigorous point, an angular detail borrowed from the chalky cliffs of Cap d’Antifer, on the edge of the Channel, which gave its name to the line. Launched in 2013, it has become in ten years "the most important collection in terms of volumes sold", specifies the CEO of Repossi, Anne de Vergeron.

On paper, the "anniversary" operation (which accompanies the launch of new jewels) could have evoked opportunistic marketing... But the simplicity of the form, which leaves the artists full latitude of interpretation, and the absence of logo make it possible to appreciate the works as a true exercise in style. “Luxury traditionally tends to force art into products,” agrees Anne de Vergeron. For us, this carte blanche is seen more as a humble return of the pendulum: we wondered if we could in turn inspire artists..."

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