INTERAZIONE INTERAKTION
MARIA ROSA FRANZIN
GIGI MARIANI
photos © Eva Jünger
Exhibition at the Isabella Hund Gallery
14 February until 02 April 2025
Exhibition opening Friday 14 March, 5 – 9 pm
“These two jewelry artists fascinate with their individualistic aesthetics and profound approaches. The show’s title reflects the essence of this artistic dialog: the interaction between material, form and emotion,” Isabella Hund explains.
Born in Libya in 1951, Maria Rosa Franzin studied at the Pietro Selvatico in Padua under Mario Pinton (1919-2008), who is acknowledged as one of the most influential pioneers of contemporary jewelry art. Franzin’s subsequent studies in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice are still evident today in the subtle, pictorial elements of her jewelry. Characteristic are enameled and nuanced surfaces of gold, white silver or oxidized silver as well as other metals, and filigree lines distinguished by their poetic lightness.
Gigi Mariani, who was born in Modena in 1957, trained as a goldsmith and afterwards opened a workshop in his hometown in 1985. Since 2001, he has been collaborating with the archaeological museum in Modena on research into historical techniques such as niello and granulation, which were already used in ancient times. The interplay of this archaic goldsmithing art with a minimalistic, geometric formal language gives his jewelry a sculptural expressiveness of timeless validity.
What at first glance seems to be a contrast in the pieces by Franzin and Mariani reveals a fascinating synergy on closer scrutiny. The Italian art historian and curator Nichka Marobin emphasizes the contemporary relevance of both artists’ works: “The reduction of materials and essential lines, combined with solidly competent goldsmithing, are deeply rooted in the spirit of the times and embody a balance and calibration of weight and structure.”
Text: Reinhold Ludwig / ART AUREA
Image top: Alexandra Brachtendorf, necklace, gold
