07.10.2020-11.15.2020
GILBERT ALBERT
joaillier de la nature
Taking after the movements initiated around the turn of the 20th century, heralding the advent of contemporary craft jewellery with his use of novel materials, the Geneva-based jeweller Gilbert Albert (1930-2019) developed a style deeply rooted in nature.
The exhibition proposes to explore this connection through a selection of “naturalistic” collections (crystals, corals, fossils, unpolished stones and gems, scarabs, etc.), as well as prominent examples of modern jewellery (Art Nouveau jewellery, Geneva School of Industrial Arts, etc.), all part of the MAH collections. These pieces re-contextualise Gilbert Albert’s work within the frame of evident influences and less obvious inspirations. Though the master was known as a very critical witness of his time, famous for his “swiping claws” as much as for his “interchangeable beads”, the multiplicity of his vocabulary (beading, wrinkling, organic chasework, navette cut and fingerprinting, etc.) offers a new take on jewellery sets, both baroque and highly cultured.
Image
Gilbert Albert (Genève, 1930 – 2019)
Demi-parure
Genève, 2007
Empreintes de pives de pin or mélangé, perle et demi-perle de Tahiti, brillants
Inv. H 2016-224 et 223
Don Fondation Gilbert Albert, 2016
© Musée d’art et d’histoire de Genève,
photo : B. Jacot-Descombes