Bulgari’s past and future meet as artists interpret Serpenti for Milan exhibition

The coiled shape of Bulgari’s Serpenti watches, necklaces, rings and bracelets has been a symbol of the Roman jewellery house since the collection was first fashioned in the 1940s, and now, 75 years later, Serpenti is being taken on a world tour to celebrate this milestone. With earlier stops in Shanghai and Seoul, the house’s artistic initiative Serpenti Factory and its ‘75 Years of Infinite Tales’ exhibition (11 October to 19 November 2023) has now opened in Milan, beneath the city’s monumental Arco della Pace in Sempione Park. ‘Milan is a very special city for us,’ Bulgari creative director Lucia Silvestri tells Wallpaper*. ‘There are so there many artists here. Rome may be the eternal city, but Milan is international.’

Bulgari exhibition reimagines Serpenti in Milan

Rather than simply stage a retrospective of Serpenti’s history – though stunning archive pieces and the latest designs are indeed on display – Bulgari has taken a step further by commissioning six artists to interpret Serpenti in a range of mediums. ‘Our mission is to maintain the DNA of the brand through creativity and innovation, with new materials and new craft,’ says Silvestri. ‘We chose these six artists because we wanted to see how they could explain our history with different eyes. It’s been so interesting to see all the interpretations.’

Each of the six artists put their own spin on the theme: Roman artist Quayola (whose LG OLED collaboration is at Frieze London 2023) devised a robotic performance that creates live sculptures based on algorithmic variations; Israeli-American artist Daniel Rozin built a responsive wall installation inspired by Serpenti’s golden scales; Catherine Mercier exhibited two cast bronze snakes; Fabrizio ‘Bixio’ Braghieri painted a series of watercolours incorporating the motif; and Milanese sculptor Filippo Salerni wrapped the Arco della Pace with a snaking, site-specific installation. 

A highlight, however, is Canadian artist Sougwen Chung’s contribution, which tapped into their research into AI, machine learning and VR technology to create a sculpture inspired by Serpenti’s twisting form. ‘My technique uses virtual reality to create a form of additive sculpture,’ Chung explains. To create the piece – which resembles cords of metal twisted into the abstracted shape of a snake – they wrote a piece of software that would allow them to build it in virtual reality, utilising a VR headset and motion-capture suit to track their movements in space. ‘It takes the data inputs from VR and uses them to create the sculpture, which is then 3D-printed and plated in chrome. It was almost like recording time and space.’ 

In addition to the 3D-printed sculpture, which hangs suspended in a small room whose walls and ceiling were covered with screens, Chung created an animation that swirled around the room, giving the impression that viewers have landed in the centre of a digital landscape. ‘I’m also a performance artist,’ Chung explains. ‘It’s sort of the central tenet of what I do. I created an avatar of myself in 3D to share that process, which is the immersive installation around the final sculpture.’

In addition to the installations, several exquisite archive Serpenti pieces are featured in the exhibition. Amongst them is a rare enamelled Serpenti Parure necklace from the 1960s, which takes the form of the ouroboros, the mythical snake that devours its own tail, and is one of less than 100 made. However, according to Silvestri, more than anything, the collaboration with contemporary artists has given her the opportunity to reflect on the house’s past 75 years. ‘Their work,’ she says, ‘allowed us to see Bulgari and Serpenti through a new set of eyes.’

Bulgari exhibition ‘75 Years of Infinite Tales’ in Milan runs from 11 October to 19 November 2023

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