Jewelry is introduced into the field of experimentation in contemporary design. It has consistently born witness to the character of the times as well as the socioeconomic changes of various epochs. Now as never before, jewelry is being contaminated by of art, fashion and design. Experimentation and innovation are the tasks of the young people who attend courses such as those offered by Alba Cappellieri, full professor of Accessory and Jewelry Design at the Politecnico di Milano, director of Vicenza’s Jewelry Museum and president of the Women’s Jewelry Association in Italy, which explores the new landscape of contemporary jewelry and in particular integration – in the context of wearable technologies – between jewelry and technology and how the latter can innovate in terms of meaning, function, and the future of jewelry.

The Modulando line’s kinetic jewelry, to be displayed at the Fuorisalone Zip Zone Event in via Santa Marta 18, springs from Elisabetta Fontana’s research into form and materials, inaugurating a new way of thinking about jewelry: not only as purely aesthetic trinkets, but also as an interactive and playful element for the wearer. For Daniela Pacchiana “her creations take shape as a continuous manipulation of modular geometric form, an analytical investigation of the materials and a symbolic and playful significance that goes beyond the object itself”. An experimenter with new materials and an expert in traditional goldsmiths’ techniques, an interest she inherited from her parents who were collectors and sellers of antique jewelry, Elisabetta Fontana combines artisan techniques with industrial processes.

Also A/dornment, the curatorial project that relies on the professionalism of a composite network of people from contemporary art and design, aims to develop knowledge and awareness of contemporary jewelry as a new field and artistic discipline, as well as fertile ground for research into technique, aesthetics, and philosophy. In collaboration with Bloft and Gumdesign, a selection of artists with a focus on the theme of volumes, conceived as a creative exploration and challenge to space on the part of forms, will display their work at the Casa dello Zecchiere in the 5VIE district with the intention of taking contemporary jewelry beyond its current boundaries and bringing it to an increasingly wider audience.

Experimentation is also the basis of the work of Turkish designer Leyla Taranto of toz design, the only jewelry designer invited to be part of VENICE DESIGN 2017 by the Dutch non-profit organization: GAA Foundation, to be held from 13 May to 26 November at Palazzo Michiel in Venice during the Biennale.