Exhibition of Jewellery by Artists, from Calder to Koons

Art lover Diane VENET acquired her first piece of artist's jewellery, a brooch by the painter Roy Lichtenstein, in New York in 1967. But it was her meeting with the sculptor Bernar VENET in 1985 that inspired her to amass a collection of artist's jewellery, including pieces acquired from meetings with the artists themselves, unique jewels that she simply fell in love with, and others ordered specially.

Over a thirty-year period, Diane VENET brought together a collection of over 230 artist's jewels. Some 180 of them will be on display for a month at the Grimaldi Forum Monaco.  From Picasso to Jeff Koons, via Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella, Niki de Saint-Phalle, Keith Haring and Louise Bourgeois, Orlan, Miguel Chevalier…the exhibition features creations by modern and contemporary artists from France and around the world.

Diane VENET's collection is a part of her everyday life. She has never stopped wearing her jewels. But exhibiting it, inviting others to share in her passion, makes perfect sense to her. By displaying her little pieces at international institutions from 2008 onwards, she has given them their rightful place in the art world. The jewel is a miniature depiction of the artist's mind, perhaps even the first idea, the concept, the preliminary to any artwork. Where the infinitely small meets the infinitely great. Diane Venet passionately gives each of the jewels in her collection the status of artwork. To demonstrate, she likes to create a dialogue between "her" miniature pieces at sculptures by famous artists such as André Derain, Max Ernst, Frank Stella, Bernar Venet. But this is an exhibition shaped by one woman's intimate view and commitment.

INFORMATION 

Espace Indigo, from 11 July to 29 August
Opening times: daily from 10 am to 8 pm
Guided tours every Thursday and Sunday at 10.30 am/2.30 pm/5 pm (groups of 20 people), advance booking required.
Admission price: €6

Opening times: daily from 10 am to 8 pm