“The Italian artist jeweller Gigi Mariani is known and renowned for his poetic and pictorial accuracy in the use of the niello technique. His vibrating, light and mesmerizing traces on the surface of his pieces are a pictorial sign that became, over the years, the signature of an entire oeuvre”.[1]
Gigi Mariani is a jeweller artist whose body of works is mainly known for his “painterly” use of niello. This metallic alloy -used for centuries by goldsmiths- reached in Mariani’s works a new degree of research and application. Pushing the effects and the nature of niello to their limits, this ancient technique provided the artist with a new field of research and inventiveness. Over the years, a dense, thick black surface became the signature of his body of works and the surfaces were worked in a pictorial way. Some of them were broken by cracks; some were suffering from scars and holes, and on other ones, ancestral traces emerged from the black matter.
Together with niello, the use of gold has always been the ideal counterpoint to the dense, thick consistency of the black matter. Gold, as well as scratches and wounds, surfaced through sparkles or portions on the pieces giving to Mariani’s body of work his individual and distinguished cifra stilistica.
Over the years, with the size of his works reduced, gold emerged consistently in accordance with a principle of reduction: where -at the beginning- the light was modulated over the matter of niello or enamel, now new glares shimmer on the gold surfaces. Thus, on the clean perimeter of the pieces, tiny, mobile elements enrich the surfaces and light plays with sophisticated volumes and movements.
Born in Modena (Italy) in 1957, Gigi Mariani opened his own studio in 1985 after a two-year apprenticeship in a goldsmith’s workshop. Since 2009 he attended several seminar workshops on goldsmith’s techniques and from 2012 onward his presence in the field of contemporary jewellery counted several exhibitions and awards. The dense consistency of his black surfaces as well as his “painterly style” reached attention at international fairs and exhibitions. His works are represented by several art jewellery galleries in Europe and America. He lives and works in Modena.
Nichka Marobin, art historian and curator
[1] Nichka Marobin, “MELENCOLIA or The Saturnine nature of the Artist”, exhibition catalogue, Barcelona, Hannah Gallery 21 Sept – 04 Nov 2022, Klimt02 Publications, 2022.
Statement
I have always been fascinated by the infinite potential that metals offer and the opportunity of transforming their original properties and aspect in order to stretch the scope of what can be achieved.
I avail myself of antique goldsmith techniques that have almost fallen into disuse, such as niello and granulation, personalizing them in order to give my work a distinctive character. I work with precious metals, combining them with other metals such as iron, copper and brass.
I apply niello to the surface of the metal so that it is completely covered. In this way, the preciousness of the metal disappears leaving way to a dark, rough surface. Through the use of heat, I achieve cracks and clots resulting in surfaces that seem battered and ill-treated, resembling ancient relics.
My work is based on spontaneity and instinct. I try to transfer everyday emotions into my jewellery in an impulsive way. This method allows me to develop works that are unique and sculptural. I endeavor to use the same sort of approach as I do when painting and often treat the surface of the metal as a canvas. This instinctive approach is counteracted by the precise, geometric forms that I use, whereby everything seems to be brought back into place.
Statement
Il mio lavoro si può suddividere in due momenti, uno progettuale e quindi una base di lavoro classica, dove sono presenti alcuni aspetti ricorrenti nel lavoro di oreficeria, come la costruzione con lastre quindi la saldatura, le cerniere e le chiusure a scatto. Un lavoro lento e pensato tipico dei lavori dell’oreficeria. E una seconda parte, quella più informale, che dà spessore all’oggetto e lo caratterizza, utilizzando antiche tecniche come l’applicazione in modo materico del Niello o la Granulazione oppure le ossidazioni. Queste texture nascondono la preziosità del gioiello (preziosità perché io solitamente utilizzo metalli preziosi). Diciamo che la base, ossia il gioiello, la utilizzo come un pittore utilizza la tela per esprimere propri concetti ed emozioni.
Negli anni ho coltivato la passione per la pittura, informale segnica, materica, dove il colore o un segno rappresentano un’emozione o particolare stato d’animo. Ecco cercavo qualcosa di analogo anche in oreficeria e l’ho trovato utilizzando le tecniche del Niello, la Granulazione o le ossidazioni in modo pittorico, informale. Un utilizzo che cambia l’aspetto dei gioielli e li rende unici. Quindi un aspetto tecnico e un aspetto artistico, un mix che credo possa rendere riconoscibili i miei pezzi. Alla fine saranno pezzi unici, perché, anche se ripetibili, essendo costruiti tutti a mano non saranno mai uguali uno all’altro, a causa di piccole differenze di rifinitura e per l’uso del Niello, pensato in questo caso come colore e dal risultato finale sempre differente.
