Creating pieces of jewellery has been Monica Castiglioni’s great passion for 40 years, spent between Milano, New York City, Ortigia and Fukuoka where, in 2019, after long cooperation, she opened a new store. In addition to jewellery design, Monica is passionate about photography, video art and green ethics applied to the creative field.Her pieces of jewellery often take the shapes of Nature and the flower pistil has become her iconic shape among the many other of her vast production.What characterizes her style is the modularity of her jewels, which can be combined in infinite ways. Her styling mainstay is unique and yet ever-changing compositions that can be created by simply adding and mixing her pieces. All her creations are either in limited numbers or single pieces and are produced with the lost wax casting technique.Monica has always liked working bronze since it unmistakably shows its inner life through its oxidation process. Some of her collections come in bigger sizes and are pieces of sculpture made in cooperation with Fonderia Artistica Battaglia in Milano and Modern Art Foundry in New York City. Monica Castiglioni Yet, bronze is not the only material that Monica Castiglioni uses: her penchant for experimenting and testing different and new materials has led her to produce felt accessories together with a team of craftsmen from Kyrgyzstan and some recently designed and produced pieces in Pyrex made in Brooklyn.In 2014, Monica was fascinated by the universe of 3D printing and, first and foremost, by the great freedom of designing objects in endless variations.In cooperation with the Italian brand .bijouets, specialized in producing pieces of jewellery and accessories with a mix between 3D technology and hand-made techniques, Monica created her jewellery collection made in sintered polyamide.Monica Castiglioni collaborated for a fashion show of Antonio Marras in Milan and her creations were showcased or are currently available at museums and art galleries and the subject of several exhibitions: • Exhibition “Bronzo Nero”, Antonio Marras showroom, Milan; • Photo exhibition “Pozzanghere”, Milan; • Exhibition “Brilliant: I futuri del gioiello italiano / The futures of Italian jewellery”, Triennale di Milano (XXI Triennale); • Exhibition “New Craft”, Fabbrica del Vapore, Milan; • Exhibition “Gioielli alla Moda”, Palazzo Reale, Milan; • Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, United States; • MOCA store Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, United States • MOMA, New York, United States; • Moss, New York, United States; • Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom. Some of her pieces may also be purchased at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Cooper Hewitt Museum stores in New York City. Monica Castiglioni is also into visual arts. Monica’s videos often become short-movies on artists and their living and working environments, the process of jewels creation, or are simply memories of everyday life and her glimpses into Nature. She also published a photo book titled “A Glimpse in the Puddle”: an experimental exercise of seeing New York City through the puddles in the streets.
