Think about a scholar, historian who creates magnificent, couture jewelry that is enriched by rare stones and superb craftsmanship; think about a poet who writes her autobiographical chapters in precious, Haute Couture, personal jewels. This is exactly what I had in mind thins evening when moderating a talk with jewelry designers Temple St. Clair, another event in the remarkable program Conversations on Design, created by Adriana Friedman at her DeLorenzo Gallery (below). This elegant evening has come to celebrate a new exhibition, opened tonight at DeLorenzo ‘Temple St. Clair – the Big Game,’ presenting the third chapter in her trilogy of jewelry, where she created jewelled portraits of animals that she loves. She has never studied to craft jewelry, but her work is rather guided by her passion for history, travel, architecture and art. Living in Italy in her 20s, breathing Mediterranean lifestyle, experiencing the daily life in the cradle of the Renaissance, this chapter in her career has come to forge her vocabulaty and approach to her art. In the talk, we explored St. Clair’s jewelry in a broad context of the Art Deco masterpieces legendary presented by DeLorenzo, and the context of 21st-century design. I was interested to investigate how her knowledge in history has come to define her identity as a designer, and to hear about the talent she has mastered to identify the best artisans in Italy, those crafting her jewelry. We spoke about her love for Louis Comfort Tiffany, about crafting fairy tales through jewelry, and about her passion and taste. The evening was concluded with book signing of St. Clair’s recent book, ‘The Golden Menagerie,’ (published by Assouline) which is a piece of jewelry in its own right, and one that I am going to gift my love ones for the holidays. Above with Temple St. Clair and Adriana Friedman.
At DeLorenzo Gallery
