CINDY CHAO The Art Jewel reignites the magic of modern Art Nouveau
Celebrated high jewellery artist Cindy Chao channels her love of Art Nouveau in her spectacular 2021 Black Label Masterpiece creations.
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An ode to nature
In the 1890s, artists and designers in Europe and the United States attempted to create a modern aesthetic for the emerging 20th century. The decorative style that emerged, Art Nouveau, featured bold colour contrasts and organic lines, sometimes flowing gracefully and sometimes rippling in long and sinuous whiplash curves resembling a tendril of foliage that suggested dynamism and movement. Peaking around 1910, the short-lived but influential design trend borrowed its inspiration from nature. Stylised natural forms such as flowers and feathers, dragonflies and butterflies, feature in any Art Nouveau design from jewellery and the decorative arts to fashion and architecture.
From Art Nouveau to “Nouveau New”
Never one contented to follow, Chao past forwards the Art Nouveau aesthetic into her “Nouveau New” contemporary style, presenting the beauty of nature in vibrant life forms in her glamorous art jewels. She brings her heritage as a third-generation artist to bear with a unique three-dimensional architectural and sculptural artistic vision. Using the ancient art of wax sculpting, a tradition that dates back to the 18th century, she shapes each piece’s lines, movements and forms by hand, injecting tension, drama and emotion to the waxes, imbuing each with a unique “soul”.
A feather in the cap