RIYADH: The Saudi National Museum in Riyadh announced on Sunday plans to host the “Van Cleef & Arpels: Time, Nature, Love” exhibition, displaying the works of the High Jewelry Maison for the first time in the Kingdom.
Set to open on January 19 next year, the exhibition will feature more than 280 jewelry pieces, watches and precious objects created since the Maison was founded in 1906, along with more than 90 archival documents, sketches and gouache designs.
The exhibition will be curated by Alba Cappellieri, Professor of Jewelry Design at Milan Polytechnic University and President of the Milano Fashion Institute.
It will also feature a scenography conceived by international architect-designer Johanna Grawunder.
Drawing from Italian writer Italo Calvino’s “Six Memos for the Next Millennium,” Cappellieri chose key concepts through which she interprets the Maison’s creations and their relationship with time. The exhibition revolves around three sections: Time, Nature and Love.
The first section, devoted to Time, extends across ten rooms, all focused on aspects emblematic of the period. The first room is dedicated to Paris, after which comes the Elsewhere and the five values cited by Italo Calvino: Lightness, Quickness, Visibility, Exactitude and Multiplicity. The following rooms highlight Intersections with other artistic disciplines that are Dance, Architecture and Couture.
At the center of the exhibition, the section on Love displays creations – symbols and gifts of love – that have embodied the power of emotions, as tokens of some of the most mythical romances of the 20th century. The final section is dedicated to Nature, expressed through Botany, Flora, and Fauna.
The exhibition gives visitors an opportunity to discover an enchanting vision in which Maison’s expert craftsmanship and pursuit of harmony come together as a true art form.
The exhibition reaffirms Van Cleef & Arpels’ values – creation, transmission, and education – through an extensive calendar that includes talks with regional and international speakers, adult and children’s workshops, and other immersive educational activities.
The event will leverage partnerships with other Saudi institutions to provide access to this first-of-its-kind patrimonial exhibition to all communities, including those with visual impairments.
Supported by the Saudi Ministry of Culture, the exhibition is the result of the Saudi National Museum’s distinguished partnership with Van Cleef & Arpels.