Alchimia is very proud to present and invite you to two solo-shows by Daria Borovkova and Lavinia Rossetti, both happening in Antwerp at Hofstraat 1 and Galerie Hilde Metz respectively, opening on March 25, 2016.
Titled Being and Belonging and Madeleine, they are part of a series of solo exhibitions realized by the graduating students of Alchimia’s MFA program 2014/2015, each taking place in a different European city. During their last year of studies and for these exhibitions, Daria Borovkova and Lavinia Rossetti have been tutored by Belgian designer Nedda El-Asmar.
Read and see below a thorough insight into their work.
Being and Belonging by Daria Borovkova
25 – 26 March 2016
Opening: Friday, March 25, 6 – 10 pm
Saturday, March 26, 11 am – 7 pm
Hofstraat 1, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
In her first solo exhibition, culminating the completion of the MFA program in Jewellery and Body Ornament, Daria Borovkova reflects on the multiculturality in the modern Western society.
The artist’s very physical process of creating pieces is a metaphor for the cultural identity formation – the unspecified metals are fused in a spontaneous personal alloy without any given proportions and rolled into paper-thin layers, then hand shaped and reshaped numerous times to become what at first glance seems a ring, each resulting unique. The malleability and the merging properties of the metals reinforce the idea of the constant shifting of our cultural being.
The artist also explores the circular shape and raises questions of where it starts and stops being a ring and becomes something else. Since a ring is a piece of jewellery strongly linked and connected to our body, it serves as a reference to the person’s natural sense and desire of belonging. The objects that some might not perceive as rings form another group which becomes a part of some larger but less identified context; the sole existence of which gives space for discussing the social and cultural integration. The work features 121 pieces and the visitors are invited to play an active part in interpreting them.
The exhibition is accompanied by a double catalogue with artist’s drawings and photos.
Daria Borovkova (born 1984, Moscow) has an international background and working experience as a visual merchandiser and interior designer. Educated in Linguistics and Intercultural Communication, and subsequently in Interior Design and Decoration, she got an MFA in Jewellery and Body Ornament at Alchimia Contemporary Jewellery School in Florence, tutored by the Belgian designer Nedda El-Asmar. Her work is dedicated to socio-cultural aspects and is expressed through direct involvement with natural materials that she carefully chooses for each project. Her jewellery has been exhibited in Europe and in the United States. She currently lives, teaches and works in Florence, Italy.
Madeleine by Lavinia Rossetti
25-26 March 2016
Opening: Friday, March 25, 6-10 pm
Saturday, March 26, 11am-7pm
Galerie Hilde Metz
Hofstraat 5-7 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
Madeleine is an homage to the famous petite French pastry, which in Proust’s life is a metaphorical key to open up his own memory. The Madeleines represent opaque and faded fragments of life lived, worn out by the slow passing of time.
Lavinia Rossetti, reminiscent of Proust’s Madeleines, uses oval shapes with the same intent, hosting a world of memories into them. In this collection of pendants and brooches Lavinia layers thin strips of wood worn out by time, as if they were layers of memories. These jewels are to be worn in that impalpable space between the mind and the heart where our memories are kept. Each piece comes with its own box, another piece of art on its own, and almost engages a dialogue with it. Thus, the outer and the inner become a whole entity.
Madeleine lends itself to various interpretations: on the one side, it is a metaphor of the traveller carrying his emotional and cultural baggage; on the other, it reminds us that no object can exist in our life without establishing a connection with our body, our emotions and memories.
Lavinia Rossetti (b. in 1985) is an Italian contemporary jewelry maker currently based in Florence. She holds an MFA in Contemporary Jewelry and Body Ornament from Alchimia contemporary Jewelry School in Florence, where the designer Nedda El Asmar mentored her through out a year. She obtained a BA in Art History with a special focus in Art jewellery from the University of Pisa, which was followed by a three-year program in Contemporary Jewelry at Alchimia, where she was tutored by many international artists such as Peter Bauhuis and Ruudt Peters.
She worked as an assistant for Ralph Bakker in Rotterdam and as a teaching assistant with Peter Bauhuis at Alchimia. Most recently her work has been exhibit in Europe and United States. She is currently working as a teaching assistant in the intensive courses at Alchimia and working as an independent jewellery artist.
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