Ai Weiwei "Rebar in Gold" @ Elisabetta Cipriani Gallery
The Chinese artist debuts his very first jewelry collection.
Since 2009, Elisabetta Cipriani Gallery has teamed up with the likes of Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Enrico Castellani, Erwin Wurm, Giorgio Vigna, Jannis Kounellis, Rebecca Horn, Tatsuo Miyajima and more, giving each of the artists an opportunity to venture into the realm of jewelry for the very first time as they create exclusive wearable sculptures. Now the London gallery is tapping none other than Ai Weiwei for its latest display. Inspired by his own investigation into the devastation of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China’s Sichuan Province — which ultimately killed more than 70,000 people — “Rebar in Gold” reimagines the contorted steel rebar that remained from the fallen buildings, casting it in 24 karat gold before hand twisting it into bracelets. Said Ai to T Magazine:
I have always loved jewelry — the history and aesthetic of it, the sense of past. We have been dressing ourselves with it since the Neolithic times, and that has always fascinated me. It’s our connection to that piece, what it says about us, what we feel about it — the story.
The “Rebar in Gold” collection is on view now through January 16, 2016 with the pieces ranging in price from about $34,000 to $69,000 USD for those interested in acquiring them.
Elisabetta Cipriani Gallery
23 Heddon Street
W1B 4BQ London
United Kingdom
