At the beginning of the spring, Senso Gallery opens the “CONTEMPORARY JEWELLERY” Exhibition and brings to the public an extraordinary collection of unique creations signed by eight Romanian artists: Alina Bancila, Alina Predoiu, Alex Burlacu, Brandusa Atena Ungurasu, Ioana Streza, Maria Filipescu, Marian Nacu and Raluca Buzura.
It is a true manifesto-show for the celebration of the eternal feminine, full of brilliance and elegance. We speak of a complex palette of author’s jewellery, with modern, flamboyant and theatrical design that incorporates and transmits experiences, revealing the personality of those who choose to offer them as a gift or wear them. They are all painstakingly crafted, with a lot of passion and infinite delicacy.
The exhibition is with sales and can be visited between April 6th and 15th, 2018, every Monday to Friday, between 11 am and 6 pm, and on Saturdays between 11 am and 4 pm.
Alina Bancila is a graduate of the National University of Arts in Bucharest, with a series of personal and group exhibitions and many awards, she has works of unprecedented force, rarely encountered in jewellery. “Luxury has always been associated with jewellery; in fact – and this finding can be inferred from all the archaeology findings made over time – it is even contingent upon the jewellery, and Alina Bancila’s works provide new arguments in this regard. From precious metals and stones – amethyst, agate, coral, turquoise, pearls, onyx, mother-of-pearl, ruby, silver, and other no less precious in skilful assemblages – with shapes appropriate for the time and season, with a dose of mystery they must contain, Alina Bancila’s pieces are, first of all, art objects” – Doina Pauleanu, art critic.
Alina Predoiu: “What inspires me? It’s simple: emotions, thoughts or impressions born out of the routine of a day, season or memories, intense feelings that have come to me, the reflections of my soul at certain moments. So I chose to communicate, to tell and to be read by the people”.
Alex Burlacu is an engineer and jewellery designer. She has participated individually and together with Contemporia, a brand she has set up in cooperation with the designer Ioana Streza, at national and international exhibitions and specialised trade fairs: International Jewellery London, Author, Bucharest Art Week, Romanian Design Week, Lucida Chamber, Made in Ro. Metal is the material of choice, crafted through traditional construction techniques. She has been experiencing modern techniques as well such as 3D modelling and printing for a little while.
Brandusa Atena Ungurasu: “Starting 2009, I started to lay the foundation for creating Brandusa Ungurasu brand, that developed nicely, slowly and organically, without any forced advocacy, all on a beautiful and ascending path. I intended to bring back to life the porcelain of the past by creating porcelain jewellery. Jewellery can be manufactured in all possible ways, and each porcelain item is painted with special colour pigments, 12% liquid gold or platinum (lustres), liquid pearl, copper or other precious metals”
Ioana Streza is an architect and jewellery designer, member of the Assemblage National Contemporary Jewellery Association and the Romanian Order of Architects. The material predominantly used is metal, to which precious and semiprecious stones, wood and plastic is added. The techniques used for making the jewellery are a combination of both traditional (the technique of lost wax, modelling and assembling metal elements by means of welding etc.) and contemporary (3D printing).
Maria Filipescu presents a world of contrasts: either pieces with minimalist design, with clean lines, or statement accessories with unique textures, intricate compositions and spectacular details. “There are experiments that combine divergent materials to highlight each other and enhance their plasticity. Every one of her pieces bears significance, it is the materialisation of an innermost vibration and she creates an intimate relationship with the bearer”. – Andra Ilias
Marian Nacu is an artist for whom any component of the mineral world holds the amazing seed of a beautiful dream. “I wouldn’t include Marian Nacu in the noble (but still frivolous) category of jewellers, but in the one of sovereign spirits for which the creative poetics is more important than the objects coming to fruition at its end” – Corneliu Antim
Raluca Buzura: “My interest in the jewellery comes from the fact that this area of art has not been given enough importance. The world’s perception on jewellery is often that of a surplus to the human body, valuable only thanks to the material used. Consequently, it was also a challenge to shift this point of view and to provide an alternative, namely, that a jewellery can be an object of art with an artistic meaning, a concept and a message”.
