A MAJOR RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION, HOSTED IN VENICE, REDISCOVERS THE HISTORY OF THE MAISON AND THE PRECIOUSNESS OF THE CLASSIC
April 18th – June 18th 2024, Venice
OFICINE 800
Fondamenta S. Biagio, 800, 30133 Venice VE
Opening Hours 11AM – 7PM
The historic Maison is pleased to present ‘The Prince of Goldsmiths, Rediscovering the Classics’, a major retrospective exhibition that rediscovers its heritage, history and craftsmanship. Hosted in Venice in the spaces of Oficine 800 on the Giudecca Island from April 18th to June 18th, 2024, signed in the creative concept and realised by Balich Wonder Studio and curated for jewellery and silverware by Alba Cappellieri, the exhibition retraces the distinctive themes of Buccellati’s creations, highlighting the mastery and preciousness of the ‘classic’.
“The classics offer the pleasure of rediscovery, evoking timeless worlds of elegance, art and nature. Reinterpreting them means reinterpreting millennial traditions and forms with an always up-to-date look.” Said Andrea Buccellati, Creative Director and Honorary President of the Maison. “This is the aim of the exhibition, which is an even more precious moment to us, as it is hosted in Venice. The classics are a bridge thrown between past and future, evidence of an original style to be perpetuated in the times to come”.
The exhibition traces a path through the creations of jewellery and silverware, the significant events and suggestions that have shaped the history of the Maison. Buccellati has chosen to set this important event in Venice, which has always been one of the most celebrated symbols of the goldsmithing tradition. Venice, with its aptitude for celebrating preciousness in multiple forms, proves to be the ideal setting to host this retrospective, whose inauguration coincides with the opening of the Venice Art Biennale, with which the Maison shares its values of rich artistic tradition.
“This exhibition is a marvellous time machine that takes us on a journey from the beginning of the 20th century, when Mario created sublime jewellery pieces for Gabriele d’Annunzio and his muses, to the 1970s, when Gianmaria magnified the goldsmithing techniques of the Renaissance with the colours of his sumptuous cocktail jewellery.” Said curator Alba Cappellieri, Professor of Jewellery Design at the Milan Polytechnic. “Up to present times, which Andrea interprets with the contemporary elegance of his cuff bracelets and soft sets. Buccellati shows us that, without the past there is no future”.
The exhibition celebrates Buccellati’s illustrious history, interweaving its creations with the themes and masterpieces of classical Italian art, enlivened through video installations. The exhibition experience is divided into four distinctive rooms, each offering a perspective on the Maison’s creative heritage. The fil rouge and icon of the exhibition is the butterfly, named “Buccellati Venice Butterfly “, created for this special occasion, and which guides each section from the first room: always a symbol of the Maison and inspiration for the creative generations of the family, the butterfly embodies the evolution and soul of Buccellati, representing its growth in different evoluting steps.
For the installation project, Balich Wonder Studio took inspiration from the distinctive long and narrow shape of Oficine 800, dividing it into two parallel sections. A play of lines and geometries traces an ideal perspective line, which becomes the visitor’s path: at times it is an imaginary path guided by the video installations, some other times the perspective is infinitely multiplied, thanks to a skilful play of mirrors. Balich Wonder Studio’s creative concept combines forms inspired by classicism, such as arches and columns, with the most advanced technology, once again celebrating the many temporal spaces that characterise the spirit of Maison Buccellati.
The icons of Buccellati’s goldsmith’s production perfectly match the symbols of our artistic heritage, such as Cupid and Psyche,” says Marco Balich, Chairman of Balich Wonder Studio. “The exhibition celebrates – in a timeless city – the beauty of the Maison’s creations and the classical arts through a contemporary reading and emotional direction, capable of generating wonder”.
The first room, ‘The Buccellati Generations’, welcomes visitors with the refined and delicate design of the wings of the ‘Buccellati Venice Butterfly’, an eternal symbol of beauty and rebirth. Here the Buccellati generations follow one another on the wings of the butterfly. This representation crystallises the evolution of the Buccellati style over a century of history, embodying the incessant creative evolution and artistic legacy of the family that has skilfully guided the Maison over the years.
The second room, ‘Manmade Wonders’, reveals precious silver creations that encapsulate the distinctive elegance of the 20th century, including small boxes, smoking accessories and handbags, all testaments to the Maison’s craftsmanship. These ‘gallantries’ illuminated the homes and wardrobes of gentlemen and gentlewomen and spread from Italy to all European courts from the 18th century onwards. Inspired by the Italian arts, by the geometric decorative elements that adorned Renaissance architecture and by the preciousness of brocaded fabrics, first Mario Buccellati and then Gianmaria Buccellati tried their hand at creating small masterpieces, made with meticulous care, inimitable skill and tireless patience. Gabriele d’Annunzio was one of the great admirers of Buccellati’s art, commissioning hundreds of pieces of jewellery and silverware that adorned his Vittoriale residence and were sometimes presents for his closest friends.
The third room, ‘Natural Wonders’, showcases the silver masterpieces characteristic of the Buccellati Style, which is distinguished by what in the Renaissance was referred to as the Arte Sottile, or the art of masterfully working silver. This sanctuary of nature-inspired creations exemplifies the craftsmanship of Buccellati’s masters in ancient techniques, such as embossing and chiselling, and in creating masterpieces that celebrate fauna and flora in all their luxuriant beauty: leaves, buds, shells and luxuriant creatures, including crustaceans, sea animals, furry animals masterfully recreated with the Furry technique, come to life in silver. Versatility and the quest for beauty are for the Maison priorities in every art form, be it jewellery or homeware. Semi-precious stones blend with silver in refined creations, while materials such as bamboo, horn, porcelain and Murano glass combine to forge sculptural forms of extraordinary grace.
In the last room, ‘The Gallery of the Icons’, the Buccellati Maison’s iconic pieces come to life, transforming themselves into authentic works of art in a long, endless, completely white gallery, which features a series of neoclassical-style columns, arranged in two parallel and opposite rows, creating a multiplying visual effect. In this almost surreal environment, the creations are displayed in a transparent section, cut into the columns at eye level, almost as if they were floating beings, offering a privileged glimpse of the iconic products of the various generations of the Buccellati family. The four central columns of the room display the four main distinctive techniques of the Maison – Tulle, Lace, Engraving and Enchainment – that transform gold into an ‘animated’ surface, evoking the textures of the finest fabrics, such as lace, tulle and brocade, with unparalleled aesthetic originality and technical mastery. In the side columns, one can admire iconic creations such as Ombelicali sautoirs, Eternelle rings and festive Cocktail high jewellery. While in the opposite columns, the Macri, Hawaii, Étoil
