From October 8, 2020 to August 28, 2021, L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts brings to light the universe of this adventurous creator, who, as a true artist, set about creating his own world. He bucked fashion trends with his own personal and pioneering style, which means that his pieces have personality. Simple yet sophisticated, powerful yet intricate, eccentric yet well-designed, constructed and deconstructed, Jean Vendome’s jewelry is always emotional. In order to be appreciated fully, it must be loved and understood, as it is the jewelry that chooses the wearer.
The private collections on display emphasizes the visionary side of his creations. One hundred and thirty pieces are on show, including Aléna Caillois’ wonderful necklace. The retrospective also features pieces from public collections at institutions including the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, as well as the sword of the academician Roger Caillois, on special loan from the Musée des Confluences in Lyon.
The exhibition showcases a wide range of his pieces. Visitors are able to retrace his innovative exploration of shapes and his avant-garde approach to changing scale and traditions in order to adapt his jewelry for the modern and liberated women of the 1970s. Jean Vendome’s prolific creations resonate like a poetic and meaningful echo of the major artistic movements of the second half of the 20th century. From kinetic pop art to the dream of the Apollo 13 space mission, his jewelry pieces evolved into Constellations, Aurore Boréale and Espace during the 1970s. The geometric shapes of the skyscrapers in Les Tours betray his passion for urban architecture and the race upwards. The 1980s were the years of “imaginary walks”, where he played on the mimetic analogy of agates, fragments of eternity, and matte and polished gold jewels with “phantom” quartz, rutilated quartz and dendritic agate. The 1990s are marked by the use of ever stronger colors, which Jean Vendome called his “vagrant” or “wild” colors. It was a time of escapism and dreaming.
A sculptor in search of fascinating inclusions, radiance, materials and colors, Jean Vendome, alchemist and jeweler, ceases to amaze you.
