Figure 1: Design draft of the exhibited work "Cat of the Opera". (Image/Provided by Fan Shujin)
The second International Contemporary Art Jewelry Competition and Exhibition came to a perfect conclusion in the art city of Rome in October 2022. The INCINQUE Jewelry Award is promoted by the Rome based cultural association The Incinque Jewels Open Art Monti and is planned by architect, creator, and project director Monica Cecchini. The selected jewelry will be exhibited at an exclusive archaeological site in Rome from October 14th to 16th.
The INCINQUE Jewelry Awards aim to promote the world's most talented contemporary jewelry artists. The competition theme is GRAND TOUR, the colors of the Journal, encouraging designers to draw inspiration from Italian cultural landmarks and present exciting and diverse designs. Shumin Fan, a young and outstanding jewelry design teacher from our country, participated in the exhibition with her work "Cat of the Opera", designed with the concept of "stage layout". The outline of the work comes from the bridge and gondola in Venice, and the middle main part is inspired by Fontana di Trevi's design, becoming the focus of attention at the exhibition.
Figure 2: A cutting-edge design teacher named Shu Xian is skilled at incorporating visual illusions into jewelry design. (Image/Provided by Fan Shujin)
Fan Shuxin studied at the IED European School of Design from 2012 to 2015. During her studies at the Rome campus, she developed a great interest in Italian church architecture and was deeply impressed by one of the churches, Chiesa di Sant'ignazio di Loyola in Campo Marzio. The dome of this church is not a real arch, but a perspective effect created by painting. Unless one walks underneath it, it is difficult to discover its design principles. On the other hand, she also received recognition from world-renowned artist M C. Inspired by Escher's "visual illusion" technique, he excels at reflecting "obtaining three-dimensional effects in a two-dimensional plane.".
The design inspiration for "Cat of the Opera" comes from a musical actor who played the role of an Italian mafia in a musical set in Venice; Due to the profound inspiration that this musical gave Fan Shuxin, it also made her want to create a dramatic jewelry piece in the competition. The overall design mainly focuses on the "stage arrangement" effect, and the outline of the work comes from the bridge and gondola boat in Venice. The gondola is patterned with a mask as the shape, and the middle main part is modeled after the Fontana di Trevi fountain.
Figure 3: Fan Shuxin's "Cat of the Opera" is highly favored by international judges and was publicly displayed at the Roman Jewelry Week. (Image/Provided by Fan Shujin)
The core part of the work design belongs to the dome design. In addition to studying the visual illusion effect, it also creates two non-existent disappearing points by creating a "bridge" as the foreground and a "dome" as the background effect. Using this technique, the actual flat metal shape is designed to extend the visual effect backwards. Fan Shuxin believes that "dome design is unique in Italian architecture, and in the history of jewelry design, it has been almost never seen to apply the" visual illusion "of architecture to jewelry. This work is a new attempt."
Rome is a stunning capital of art, with its architecture filled with sturdy quality, semi-circular arches, sturdy piers, and magnificent domes, making the overall appearance majestic and dignified. Each building has a clear and distinct form, and often adopts regular symmetrical designs. Therefore, many international famous jewelry brands also draw inspiration from Roman architecture and decorative art, showcasing exquisite craftsmanship and the spirit of goldsmiths. Fan Shuxin has taken the international stage with a combination of local architectural characteristics and professional techniques, not only adding new ideas to jewelry design, but also representing another shining example of Chinese art on the international stage.