Bangkok--17 Feb--ogilvy
Van Cleef & Arpels, a high jewelry Maison from France, is to open a new exhibition at ArtScience Museum, Singapore. Entitled "Van Cleef & Arpels: The Art & Science of Gems", the exhibition sets to bring its 110-year history and its best craftsmanship to showcase through more than 400 stunning creations. The exhibition will be ready to open from April 23 – August 14, 2016.
Mr.Nicolas Bos, President & CEO, Van Cleef & Arpels, said "Van Cleef & Arpels' The Art & Science of Gems exhibition will be held under a strong partnership between Van Cleef & Arpels and the ArtScience Museum of Singapore. We come up with this exhibition to celebrate and showcase the intersection between the science of mineralogy and the art of jewelry making. The exhibition will, then, feature two complementing routes. One route unearths the evolution of minerals from the deep Earth to its surface with minerals exclusively provided by the French National Museum of Natural History Collection. Another route presents the transformation of these minerals into precious works of art where stunning Van Cleef & Arpels creations will be on display."
"Van Cleef & Arpels: The Art & Science of Gems" will allow attendants to explore the work of the Maison's craftsmen while allowing them to gain more knowledge about minerals and its origin. More than 400 creations both from Van Cleef & Arpels' archive collection, plus pieces on loan from private collectors all around the world, made by the hands of the Maison's best craftsmen, known as the "Mains d'Or™", will be showcased at the exhibition. 250 valuable minerals from the French National Museum of Natural History Collection, will also be on display alongside Van Cleef & Arpels creations.
To tell the story of Van Cleef & Arpels, the exhibition follows a series of seven defining themes including:
- Couture – a showcase of the close link between Van Cleef & Arpels and Paris which is the centre of elegance and fashion with highlights that include the Zip necklace (1954), made by suggestion of the Duchess of Windsor.
- Abstraction – a collection of nonfigurative jewels influenced by the art of its times, notably minimalist, modernist, abstract and op art movements, echoing image from the paintings of Pablo Picasso and Fernand Leger, through such stunning pieces as the Art Deco bracelet (1925).
- Influences, showcasing a fascination for Far Eastern culture that swept over Parisian jewellery in the 1920s in the mix with the hippy movement in the 1970s through such noble work as the Egyptian Inspiration Bracelet (1924), reflecting the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb.
- Precious Objects – a showcase of Van Cleef & Arpels' skill in raising utilitarian objects to the rank of precious works of art like Wild rose Minaudière (1938) mounted in gold and is decorated with a wild rose clasp that can be worn as a clip.
- Nature – a rich source of inspiration that is always a major theme for the Maison with highlights that include the Bouquet Clip (1940).
- Ballerinas and fairies – a collection of ballerina-inspired creations born out of Louis Arpels' passion for dance in the early 1940s with masterpieces like the Spanish Ballerina Clip (1941).
- Icons – a collection that showcases how the Maison adorns the most beautiful women on legendary occasions with highlights of the Peony Clip (1937) in the former collection of Her Royal Highness Princess Faiza of Egypt.
Tickets are available from April 1 at all Marina Bay Sands box offices and website. Standard ticket price for adult is S$17. Ticket prices for senior (65 years and above) and child (2-12 years) are S$12.8 and S$10 respectively. Family package (2 kids and 2 adults) is S$39 each.
For more information, please log on to www.marinabaysands.com/artsciencemuseum and follow more updates @vancleefarpels and #theartscienceofgems.