Cipriani and Ai Weiwei Gold Jewellery

The jewellery collection 'Rebar in Gold' to Cipriani's Mayfair gallery

Gallerist Elizabetta Cipriani and Ai Weiwei bring their jewellery collection 'Rebar in Gold' to Cipriani's Mayfair gallery

(Image credit: TBC)

By Emma O'Kelly

last updated 7 September 2022

After three years of trekking back and forth to Ai Weiwei’s studio in Beijing, armed with expensive bottles of Italian red wine, gallerist Elisabetta Cipriani finally persuaded the artist to work with her. It was not easy; at first he wasn’t keen, dealing as he does with weightier themes, but Cipriani’s charm, and her roster of artist collaborators, among them Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Carlos Cruz-Diez and Giorgio Vigna, persuaded him.

Last week, the results of the pair’s efforts went on show at the Mayfair gallery that Cipriani founded six years ago. ‘Rebar in Gold’ consists of two 24 carat gold strips, each 20cm and 60 cm long that are soft enough to be moulded into a bracelet by the wearer. (With his bear-like grip, Weiwei manipulated Cipriani‘s own piece with ease, though less statuesque wearers may struggle).

Engraved with indents and markings, each gold strip is designed to reference the twisted steel rods that appear in his seminal work, Straight, currently on show at the Royal Academy. In it, Weiwei places 200 tonnes of contorted steel rebar, salvaged from the scene of the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan province in 2008, on the floor. The work commemorates the 70,000 people who perished largely due to the poor construction techniques in the region.

Since 2009, Cipriani, a former curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome, has worked with 17 artists to make limited edition jewellery pieces. ‘I am thankful to Ai for choosing Straight as the basis of the project. Although simple in appearance, the bracelets have a strong and meaningful concept, which to me is what an artist’s 'jewel' should have,’ says Cipriani.

Weiwei took charge of everything from sourcing the gold, right down to the design of the elegant wooden and glass cabinets in which the pieces are displayed. ‘He put a lot of energy into this project,’ says Cipriani, ‘and although I did approach him, ultimately, I believe, he chose me.’

The delicate twisted gold strips — Engraved with intricate indents, each of the delicate gold strips recalls the twisting steel rods that appear in his seminal work, *Straight*, currently on show at the Royal Academy

The wooden cabinets used to display the gold jewellery — Weiwei was intimately involved with the curating process, down to the wooden cabinets used to display the gold jewellery

The exclusive collection will be on view at Elisabetta Cipriani Gallery in Mayfair until 16 January, 2016

INFORMATION
For more information on Straight, visit the Royal Academy website, (opens in new tab) and to find out about Rebar in Gold, which will be on show until 16 January 2016, visit Elisabetta Cipriani’s website (opens in new tab)

ADDRESS

Elisabetta Cipriani
23 Heddon Street
W1B 4BQ
London

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TOPICS

Wearable art Ai Weiwei

Emma O'Kelly is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. She joined the magazine on issue 4 as news editor and since since then has worked in full and part time roles across many editorial departments. She is a freelance journalist based in London and works for a range of titles from Condé Nast Traveller to The Telegraph. She is currently working on a book about Scandinavian sauna culture and is renovating a mid century house in the Italian Lakes.