Exploring the "Van Cleef & Arpels, When Elegance Meets Art" Exhibition at Today Art Museum

The poetry and elegance of Van Cleef & Arpels’ creations will be on display at Beijing’s today art museum from Apr 21 to Aug 5, 2018. First presented in 2012 at Paris’ Musée des Arts Décoratifs, this exhibition is traveling for the first time to take up residence in China for several months.

Enriched with new acquisitions, it is made up of over 360 creations from both the Van Cleef & Arpels Collection and private collections. Displayed chronologically, these carefully selected high Jewelry pieces reflect 
the evolution of the Van Cleef & Arpels style. The history of the Maison is studded with technical inventions, passed down from generation to generation by the Mains d’Or  – its virtuoso master craftsmen. This exceptional savoir-faire – combined with a rich imagination and varied sources of inspiration – underpins an astonishing outpouring of creativity. The exhibition is presented in a dreamlike setting designed by the Jouin Manku Agency. 

Beginning in Place Vendôme in 2006, a special and enduring relationship has grown up between Van Cleef & Arpels and Jouin Manku. Over the years, the architectural and design agency has contributed to many of the Maison’s projects, notably in exhibitions devoted to Van Cleef & Arpels across the world.

For the exhibition “Van Cleef & Arpels, When Elegance Meets Art” at the Today Art Museum in Beijing, Patrick Jouin and Sanjit Manku have created a decor that evokes the world of dreams. Presented for the first time in 2012 at Paris’ Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the exhibition is today revealed in a dreamlike setting, inspired by misty landscapes traced in China ink. Tinged with mystery, this presentation plunges the visitor into the heart of the Maison’s distinctive universe, with a selection of over 360 creations displayed in chronological order.

Like a journey in time, the visit begins with the discovery of jewelry pieces dating from between 1910 and 1930. In the “small gallery”, jewels and precious objects are presented in a gentle atmosphere of gray and celadon green tones. The gaze is then drawn to the plays of shadow and light of the second space (the “medium gallery”), which showcases the creations of 1940 to 2016 in display cases of different kinds. Encrusted into the wall or on legs, traditional display cases enable the pieces to be admired close up, while transparent “picture rail” displays – specially designed for this exhibition – seem to melt into the scenery. Like near-invisible boxes, they fade into the background to make way for the jewels in all their majesty.

Guided by changing colors – from emerald green to deep violet – visitors make their way through the different periods, styles, and inspirations associated with Van Cleef & Arpels before arriving at the “large gallery” entitled for the occasion “The Poetic World of Van Cleef & Arpels”. The high point of the exhibition, it looks down over the other spaces like a nocturnal mist, progressively revealing the selection’s key pieces.

From room to room, wall panels and curtains in colored cotton thread provide structure and rhythm to an exhibition spread out over 900sqm. The space of the Today Art Museum has been transformed by Jouin Manku’s decor, which reveals the beauty and details of the pieces while immersing visitors in a meditative dreamscape.

To accompany the exhibition, a range of digital and audiovisual tools are available for visitors:

• An audioguide application can be accessed via Van Cleef & Arpels’ WeChat account at VanCleefArpelsChina, to discover the story behind some of the emblematic jewelry pieces and stay up to date with news about the event
• A virtual tour of the workshops can be viewed on touchscreens placed around the exhibition rooms
• Several films supplement the exhibition, including a historical slideshow about Paris’ Place Vendôme; nine short movies by Loïc Prigent and Willy Papa depicting the savoir-faire of the Mains d’Or, the virtuoso craftsmen of Van Cleef & Arpels’ workshops; a film about some key pieces presented in “the poetic World of Van Cleef & Arpels”, the large gallery of the exhibition; and a video about the animated Automate Fée Ondine.

This article is provided by Van Cleef & Arpels
Images courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels