"Pablo Picasso, Pendant: Le gran Faune, 1973"
The second floor of the Museum of Arts and Design was packed with tourists and wealthy patrons. As I made my way through the eager crowd to see the “Picasso to Koons: The Artist as Jeweler” collection, I could easily share in the enthusiasm that filled the room. The collection featured brooches, necklaces, watches, and pendants from painters and sculptors of the 20th and 21st centuries including Pablo Picasso, Rene Magritte, Salvador Dali, Louise Bourgeois, Keith Sonnier, Donald Sultan, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol. The pieces were reflective of their creators’ artistic styles; Picasso’s iconic abstraction made it into his gold pendants and Magritte’s taste for the surreal transcended into his fragile but impactful brooches. Jewelry may not have been the artists’ main forte, but the pieces were distinctive as well as immaculately crafted. In a stunning display of imagination and craftsmanship, the exhibit kept me intrigued and eager to create.
