In the sunny south of France, famed twentieth-century artist Henri Matisse produced a body of work that took the art world by surprise. Unlike most abstract art at the time, his works were friendly, not harsh; fanciful, not alienating...they had absorbed the warmth and color of their sunny surroundings, while maintaining the complexity of all things birthed by a genius mind. Today, Eve Alfillé takes up the torch with the creation of her latest series, ‘Matisse:’ a homage to his works through the lens of her own medium of choice: art jewelry.
“It is not easy to capture that feeling and create it in a different medium,” says Eve, “especially working in the medium of jewelry where the metals are not inherently colorful...but my interest, while I admire the color, is in the line, the form, and the way that the abstraction was created...I am particularly interested in his collage.” Throughout, but especially later in his career, Matisse experimented in paper cut-out collages of many fantastical shapes and colors. They spoke volumes in their simplicity, and could sometimes result in entire rooms transformed by assemblages of color and movement.
To pay tribute to this vision, Eve plans to draw from a variety of precious materials. These will include large, lush pearls in voluptuous shapes, as well as large and intensely colored stones such as amethysts, citrines, sapphires and more. According to Eve, she is “especially interested in the interstices, the spaces– in what is not on the paper, in what is not colored, but in the form that has literally been abstracted.” And so, special importance will be given to such elements as “small, sharply-colored rubies and other bright colors to mark the spaces in between the sections.”
More than anything, this brand-new series will be paying homage to the playfulness in Matisse. In the spirit of that playfulness, the Eve Alfillé Gallery & Studio will be throwing a party to celebrate the opening of this new series on November 14, which will include festive Champagne, drinks and treats, and a live musical performance. Come and play!
The new series will be released and celebrated on November 14, 2015 from 1:00 p.m - 7:00 p.m. at the Eve J. Alfillé Gallery and Studio. To join the celebration, call to reserve your space at 847-869-7920 or send an email to contact@evejewelry.com. To learn more about Eve Alfillé and her inspiration, go to www.evejewelry.com.
French-born, artist, archeologist and gem expert, Eve Alfillé opened her Evanston, IL-based gallery and studio in 1987. The Eve J. Alfillé Gallery & Studio creates one-of-a-kind, art-inspired jewelry hand-crafted at the Gallery. Eve is also the founder of The Pearl Society and an officer of the International Pearl Association. Visit the website at www.evejewelry.com or Eve’s blog at www.evejewelry.wordpress.com.
