The Celine Bijoux d’Artistes project has announced the latest edition to its collection, with a limited series of 100 pieces inspired by the works of French sculptor, painter and poet Jean Arp.
Imbued with particular meaning for Celine’s Artistic Director, Hedi Slimane, the Bijoux d’Artistes project was created with the intention to serve as a compendium of artworks produced by great avant-garde artists from throughout history, celebrating their forward-thinking artistic vision.
Newly added to this collection, Celine has chosen to dedicate this next chapter to Jean Arp; a pioneering figure of the European avant-garde movement in the first half of the 20th century. This unprecedented piece – which faithfully recreates the multidisciplinary artist’s original sculptural artwork – is an exclusive made-to-order edition, envisioned in close collaboration with the Fondation Arp.
Arp was a foundational member of the Dadaism movement, which arose as a reaction to the First World War, rejecting the aestheticism of modern capitalism and embracing whimsy, irrationality and anti-bourgeois protest through art. As both a poet and sculptor, Arp was among the first artists to explore abstract forms through a visual language inspired by the spontaneity of nature, seeking balance between height and depth; light and darkness; the eternal and the ephemeral.
During the 1950s, Arp created a series of sculptures inspired by his travels in Greece. Titled Ptolemy, the artworks embody both volume and void in perfect harmony, as yin and yang in the round. Completed in 1958, Ptolemy II builds upon Ptolemy I, with Arp adding an arm to its rounded form. To this day, Ptolemy II can still be found at the artist’s home-atelier in Clamart, France, where the Fondation Arp is located, and it has been exhibited in many prestigious museums around the world.
With this in mind, Slimane selected Arp’s unique artistic style as part of Celine’s Bijoux d’Artistes collection, with this new jewellery series highlighting both the artist’s technique and signature. Adapting the form of Ptolemy II required multiple casting attempts in order to recreate the fullness, curves and negative space of this iconic sculpture, which shifts in perception, according to the point of view.
Produced in both vermeil and 925 sterling silver, the piece features an adjustable clasp, which allows the rounded link chain to be worn either long, as a sautoir, or short, as a double tour. Once the clasp is retracted, the piece can also be placed vertically, in the same manner as a work of art itself. The name ‘Arp’ is engraved under the pendant, while the Celine logo and the number of each handcrafted jewellery piece are engraved upon the clasp; every piece produced within this very limited series is numbered from 1 to 50 for both the vermeil pieces and those in silver.
The box in which the pieces are despatched – crafted from pinewood and hot-engraved with Jean Arp’s name – is inspired by the concept of the transport crates used to carry artworks. The underside is laser-engraved with ‘Celine Paris Arp Project’, along with each piece’s edition number. The case’s interior design also provides an ideal support for displaying the jewel itself.
This latest addition follows the César Compression Project of 2020, and the Louise Nevelson Project of 2022. The first ‘Directed Compressions’ were created by the sculptor César Baldaccini in 1959, initially made from soldered and welded metallic objects and scrap metals. The mechanical action of the hydraulic press – an almost industrial process – played upon the perceived functions of the objects and the new era of ‘ready-made’ of the period.
This technique, which César called “demystification”, took on a new form when he started to compress jewellery in 1971. The artist started to collect old jewellery from friends and family – pieces of sentimental value and heirlooms. When compressed, they take on a totemic form, becoming a symbolic pendant hung on a leather cord or chain.
In the 2020 collaboration between Celine and the Fondation César, it was this notion that Celine sought to pay tribute to. The jewellery piece was presented in a simple, artisanal pine box, hot-stamped with the signature of the artist.
The compression itself displayed a dual identity, both as a piece of jewellery and an objet d’art intended to be held, rendered personal by its emotional and physical weight. Through this tactile manipulation, it becomes a talisman of strength and reassurance, regardless of gender. A retractable hook enabled the pendant to be perceived as not only a piece of jewellery, but also a stand-alone sculpture. Equally, its container was created as both a utilitarian box and a pedestal for its contents.
Similarly, in 2022, Celine chose to reinterpret a piece of work by the renowned artist Louise Nevelson, another major instigator of modern sculpture and predominantly known for her monumental, wooden wall pieces made of multiple, box-like structures. The totemic complexity of the assembled elements blends together in a monochromatic wave.
Nevelson also designed a vast collection of jewels that became an extension of her art. She created – and wore – her unique sets of jewellery, expressing her own remarkable and captivating personality through these precious amulets and ‘miniature sculptures’. Her personal production of approximately 200 pieces can be found among private and public collections all over the world, including in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Celine chose to revive one of Nevelson’s singular creations. The pure design of the black wooden jewel – set in metal – captured the same assembly technique as those used in the artist’s sculptures, merging her various artistic influences: the refusal of conventions from surrealism; the formal research of cubism; and the freedom of expression of primitive art. The recreation carried on the gesture made by the pioneering artist, who transformed the ornament into a nomadic artwork to wear as a symbol of art and life, presented in a special black wooden box with a dedicated space fixed for the pendant and chain.
With this moving tribute to Jean Arp, Celine’s Bijoux d’Artistes series continues to embrace the artistic works of those who define the avant-garde movement. This new addition is beautiful yet also subtle and understated, offering a fresh perspective on notions of aesthetic and utilitarian design.
