GIOIELLI IN FERMENTO! AGING & EVOLUTION

The city of Castel San Giovanni (Piacenza) in collaboration with AGC Associazione Gioiello Contemporaneo, will host Gioielli in Fermento 2020 edition of the contemporary jewellery competition linked to the cultural and artistic context of Val Tidone Valley. Getting inspiration from a typical landscape of the Emilia region, the curatorial project extends every year to its international audience of passionate and experts in the field of research in jewellery. The theme work of experimental jewellery, still unreleased, ‘Fermento! AGING and EVOLUTION’ is a distinctive element for professional/emerging category, while student sections have free access with all kind of works, final course projects and jewellery prototypes.Carrying forward with the connection between wine and studio jewellery and using the words of wine, Gioielli in Fermento X (the 10th Edition) suggests the concept of maturity and evolution coming from the pathway of each author’s research. Moreover, it’s time for a reflection. How did all this ferment get into ten years of exhibitions and tales about our relationship with the lively context that surrounds us?

We dealt with conviviality, landscapes, quality of life, Mediterranean shades, memories, colours, emotions, roots, territories and materials. How far ahead are we with the way to express and interpret ornaments? What are the next steps approaching the field of research jewellery?

Evolution – where are we going? – towards the unknown or the refinement of skills, near freestyle performance or maturation of practice and ageing?Answers are up to you, designer, artist, contemporary goldsmith, researcher, expert craftsman or student.
Once more the metaphorical tasting will be evoked, thanks to the authentic contribution of the works selected by the jury and shown in the next collection.

For 10 years, the main focus of the competition has been inspired by the chemical phenomenon of fermentation as the metaphor underlining the evolutionary aspect of contemporary experimental jewellery, which represents a crossroads between individual research paths and international collective atmospheres. A piece of jewellery is the result of a pure fermenting process.The general context of the project Gioielli in Fermento, as it to say about the term fermentation, ideally refers to a suitably “transformed” result, an art jewellery piece, which constitutes the outcome of the research itself, linked to phases of preparation, experimentation, quality determination.

Apart from the chemical phenomenon, which has a precise role in the world of wine, over the years we have tried to investigate this concept more and more by putting it in relation with the world of contemporary body ornaments.

At the turn of the X edition, the theme, from fermentation, leads to Aging and Evolution with the purpose of communicating something even more accomplished and beyond the inherent state of maturation.

The winning work will express singular creative energy, that original individuality of research studio jewellery that represents the idea of contemporary ferment (restlessness, excitement, trepidation, upheaval …) through the maturity of the path, experienced by its author.Artists will present an ornament for the body challenging the theme, evoking descriptive or conceptual traits according to their own inspiration. The unquestionable choice of the jury will respect the essence of the work and its consistency within the collection that will be put on display for the 10th anniversary of Gioielli in Fermento.The Jurya

The Gioielli in Fermento Awards will be assigned by the Jury Committee invited annually:
– Alba Cappellieri, Milano (Italy), professor of Jewelry Design and Accessory at the Milan Polytechnic and director of the Museo del Gioiello of Vicenza.
– Renzo Pasquale, Padua (Italy) artist and teacher at the goldsmith department of P. Selvatico Art School in Padua.
– Olga Zobel, founder and director of Galerie Birò (Munich, Germany – Cagnes sur Mer, France)

Students sections: with the advice of AGC and GiF boards coordinated by Eliana Negroni, jewellery industry designer, contemporary jewellery collector and director of Gioielli in Fermento.

Awards in collaboration with: