2017 Revealing Nature’s hidden stories
Armonie Minerali is a bold step forward in a fascinating journey deep into the soul of rare, precious minerals that was first embarked on by Pomellato in 2017 in the Ritratto collection, in celebration of the house’s 50th anniversary. Pomellato continues to use mysterious minerals in unorthodox ways to reveal awe-inducing treasures, opening our eyes to a new vision of precious. Armonie Minerali reinvents beauty by using the codes of art, music and design to combine fragments of nature in dynamic contrasts.
2019 Armonie Minerali
The intellectual sophistication and design prowess of Milan, as well as the wider world of art and music, inspired creative director Vincenzo Castaldo and his design team to further explore the rich and intriguing world of gemstones. Where Ritratto sought to frame the natural beauty of gemstones, Armonie Minerali is a union of the marvel of Nature and the infinite ingenuity of human creativity. In doing so, Armonie Minerali actively provokes a lively dialogue between Man and Nature and offers a new take on preciousness.
In the words of Vincenzo Castaldo: “This new collection is a game of complicity between Man and Nature, where craftsmanship and natural beauty unite in a joyous dance of unexpected combinations to form a new composition. After all, playfulness, with a touch of irony and irreverence, is a defining trait of Pomellato.”
The 38 rings and pendants present an original coming together of patterns, colours, textures, opacity and luminosity, divided by a simple band of precious gemstones. The stones are cut into soft, rounded cabochons that face each other, vis-à-vis, as if in conversation.
Instinctively appealing, like all great design, no explanation is necessary. The ancient patterns formed inside stones millions of years ago are spontaneously evocative and, in the hands of Pomellato, deftly transmit deep cultural references in a single glance. Thanks to the power of suggestion, in one of the rings you may see an entire universe, or perhaps a fleeting moment, crystallised in these expressive mineral combinations; polished yet visceral, philosophical yet spontaneous.
Chapter 1
Black and White Obsession, the art of conversation
In a language that transcends borders, this chapter is inspired by the stark eloquence of black and white art. The jewels explore the power of a restricted colour palette to express striking narratives with an elegant minimalism. For example, the dendritic opal in the Japanese Samurai ring reminds us of the harmony found in traditional Japanese prints, or even in the artist Yayoi Kusama’s unconventional paintings, such as the Infinity Nets. Similarly, bands of grey and white agate capture the essence of Christopher Wool’s raw, graffiti-like, vast canvases. Likewise, a negative print version of Jannis Kounellis’ 1964 Black Rose, an icon of Italy’s Arte Povera movement, may be perceived in the random patterns of snowflake obsidian.
Chapter 2
A Tribute to Colour, ancient hues for a new era
A Tribute to Colour is the largest of the three chapters, with a tempting range of candy-bright jewels that exude vitality. This chapter explores the work of a generation of architects and designers who shaped the Milanese design landscape in the post-World War II period. The world of Gio Ponti, Luigi Caccia Dominioni, Vico Magistretti and Aldo Rossi was also the milieu of Pino Rabolini, the founder of Pomellato. Rabolini’s quest for modernity is alive in these vibrant jewels, which burst with the optimism of an age of experimentation. Gio Ponti, mastermind of the Italian Novecento art movement, summarises the mood in his proclamation that ‘everything in the world must be colourful’ and reminds us that ‘colour is the greatest gift’ that ‘gets the blood flowing’.
Chapter 3
Pattern Hypnosis, the primal appeal of a beating drum
The rhythm of music pulsates through Pattern Hypnosis – the most abstract of the three chapters. It aims for the near-impossible: to express the vibrancy of music in the undulating patterns, bold striations, distressed fractals and soft waves of hard stones. The primal appeal of a beating drum reverberates through the stones like ripples on water.
This mesmerising experiment draws on works of art that succeed in capturing musical harmonies on canvas. Take, for instance, the concentric pink and white patterns of rhodochrosite of the Adagio di Damasco ring that recall the hypnotic visual experience of gazing into one of Ugo Rondinone’s Target paintings. The artist Albert Oehlen, who channelled the chaotic yet harmonious sound of free jazz, challenges Pomellato to render its syncopation and disharmony through the colour clash of green malachite and black and white banded agate in the Sturm und Drang ring.
Vincenzo Castaldo articulates the essence of the collection: “The circle is completed, although the search for beauty is infinite.”
