LA FRAGILITÀ DEGLI ABBRACCI / RAÍZ DE LUZ

Year: 2020

Dimensions: 24 x 15 cm

Materials: Natural untreated bronze, CAD drawing, 3D printer prototyping, lost wax protocasting, hand-worked, assembled and articulated ramage, creation of the box closure, hand-hammered surfaces alternating with polished and engraved areas

Elizabeth Aro says:
“The meeting with Vendorafa and Daniela Lombardi was wonderful: having found a company that shares my same principles made the collaboration much easier and more natural, we immediately empathized. Beautiful projects are born when there is enthusiasm on both sides throughout the process. I liked the way they interpreted my work and at the same time I tried to design a project that was in connection with them. We went to the essence and immediately understood that there were clear concepts that united us. The harmony of principles and intentions was the starting point for tackling this project which is fundamentally a work of translation where the artistic idea is translated into a jewel and the jewel into art.
The greatest difficulty was to translate the sensuality and warmth of the fabric - which is the material I usually work with - into the metal which by its nature conveys the idea of ​​cold. Daniela and Vendorafa were incredible in understanding this need of mine and in interpreting it. The same sensuality of the fabric is now seen in the metal.
What I understood from this collaboration is that a jewel contains memories: the memory of who gave it, when and why, that is, moments of life. The most beautiful thing is that with a jewel you are never alone. A jewel embraces. For this reason, I decided to title my creation La fragilità degli abbracci / Raiz de luz. A woman embraced by a tree and its branches, trying to create a new connection between all of us. Especially in this difficult moment in which we cannot touch each other, the hug is what we miss the most.”

Daniela Lombardi says:
“Vendorafa is a family business that has reached seventy years of history. The idea of ​​​​participating in Fragile bellezza interested us from the beginning even if we feared that it would not be easy to collaborate with an artist and translate her thoughts into a jewel. Instead it was very easy, for at least two reasons: Elizabeth Aro is a woman, an artist, very profound with whom we immediately entered into harmony; we are enthusiasts and every time we throw ourselves into a project we put our heart and soul into making it happen.
Through her drawings Elizabeth guided us towards her concept of fragile beauty: a tree of life, a soul, that moves and embraces a woman. In a moment like this, so difficult for all of us, these branches that stretch around a female body made us feel somehow comforted. We firmly believe in beauty as an inner value, which is why our jewels tend to have a soul. Beauty is given by the volumes, the dimensions, but above all by the different textures and finishes that mean that the jewel must be touched, felt and loved: something that pleases and continues to please over time. Transforming Elizabeth's idea into a jewel was easy because her works transform over time while maintaining their beauty unchanged.
Until a few years ago we would have made this jewel entirely by hand starting from the sheet. Today we can take advantage of modern technologies that help us in the design and verification phase, but the details of the jewel, the finishes, the jointed links, the closure, all the details are made by hand.
There was great mutual respect. We worked trying to never change the artist's idea even though we had to solve all those anatomical and ergonomic problems that make the jewel comfortable to wear. Furthermore, this jewel had to be precious, it had to attract, because preciousness is another of the characteristics of Elizabeth's works, as well as of goldsmithing. It can be said that ours was a decidedly successful marriage. We are very satisfied with the operation and we are enthusiastic and excited to see the result. Furthermore, it must be said that it was wonderful to work among women. Because if it is true that today the gender difference is no longer as important as it once was and that it is important to work with intelligent people, whether men or women, the affinity that was immediately created with Elizabeth was incredible. Passion brought us together.
The passion for our work, his creative passion, my passion for jewelry and above all the desire to create something beautiful. This jewel is an eternal work.”