My agenda

19 December 2018

“Un miroir d’obsidienne” at the Pierre-Alain Challier gallery

Gallery owner Pierre-Alain Challier asked 13 artists to create mirrors and jewelry using a little-known black stone: Armenian obsidian.

 

 

“Obsidian elevated man to the state of human: when we speak of the Stone Age in the East, we are talking about obsidian, not flint,” explains Pierre-Alain Challier. The ultra-black stone was used to make the pupils of the funeral mask of Tutankhamun‘s eyes or the mirrors with which the dead were buried. Then it disappeared…” The Soviet bloc prevented imports from Armenia,” continues Michel der Agobian, a specialist in the obsidian extracted from Mount Ararat. “It was used to make souvenirs for tourists.”

 

Variations on black

Jean-Luc Parant and Jean-Michel Othoniel created a raw block of obsidian with polished edges. Parant shaped it into figures evoking archaeology and then mounted it on a string. Othoniel then suspended it on a necklace made of glass beads, his favourite material, helping us to see the similarity of the shards. Mattia Bonetti cut perfectly round pearls from a block and then set them in transparent resin. Anne and Patrick Poirier imagined geometric architectural shapes assembled as in a construction set, in a huge necklace.

 

Arik Levy, crazy about obsidian

Arik Levy is the inspired artist who created the largest number of pieces. The black cubes encrusted with rings and the obsidian rock equipped with a chain and handcuffs are conceptual. He questions the desire to possess ever bigger stones, to the point that they become unwearable and turn us into slaves. Arik Levy finally explores the specificity  of Armenian obsidian: a transparent material with black veins reminiscent of wood, positioning them both horizontally and vertically, across each other.

 

Drawing on the work of goldsmiths, sculptors, designers, architects and plastic artists, Michel der Agobian and Pierre Alain-Challier have propelled obsidian into modernity.

 

“Miroirs d’obsidienne, Miroirs et bijoux d’artistes” until 12 January 2019

 

Banner image: Arik Levy – Sculpture-jewel “Hold me tight” (detail)

Most popular articles

The "Dans l’intimité de Vever " exhibition at 9 rue de la Paix

Camille and Damien Vever, who resurrected the brand just two years ago, trace its history through 60 pieces of jewelry and objets d’art.

Discover contemporary jewelry in the exhibition "Hair and Hairs"

“Surprisingly, hair fascinates many young artists and designers,” notes exhibition curator Denis Bruna.

Must-see jewelry events in 2023

In France and abroad: “On the road to Samarkand – The wonders of silk and gold”, “Ramses and the gold of the Pharaohs”, “Gold and treasure, 3,000 years of...

My jewelry wish list

Here’s some jewelry that I find beautiful, funny and/or interesting, whether it’s new or not. Take your pick! By Sandrine Merle.     1/ Bottega Veneta...

Don’t miss Re-Luxury, the second-hand show that’s the brainchild of Fabienne Lupo

“For me, second hand is where digital was 20 years ago!”, said Fabienne Lupo founder of Re-Luxury, the second-hand show.

Coins and jewelry at Citéco

Sabine Pigalle represents Marie Antoinette, the bottom of her face hidden by strings of pearls evoking the famous necklace affair.