Intellectual fashion, hypertrophied forms and complex silhouettes have taken root in our wardrobes, and objects of modern art that aren’t immediately comprehendible have taken place in our homes. Then what about jewellery? Many of us still wear things that haven't changed for centuries or hide our individuality behind a big brand name.

Once upon a time, these big brands started with artists and visionaries. The words Cartier, Boucheron, Van Cleef & Arpels didn’t mean a registered trademark, but the name of the artist, his signature work. These masters were joined by others whose names have been erased by the age of marketing. Do the names Alexandre Genay, Charles Jacquot or Frédéric Mew mean anything to you? - three once-famous Cartier masters. And this is just one of many such examples.

John Goldsmith, the title of the exhibition, is a play on words. John Smith is the traditional sign off for a person wishing to remain anonymous or just your average person. Goldsmith literally means metal worker a jeweller. So, who is John Goldsmith?

We know of many contemporary sculptors, performers and video artists, we can list dozens of couturiers by name, but how many creators do we know in the art jewellery sphere. "Get to know each other," Eurus Gallery tells its visitors, "and memorize these names. The names of those who are shaping the contemporary art jewellery scene and the future of jewellery excellence".

The collaboration between Stephen Webster x Tracey Emin exhibited at Eurus Gallery is a brilliant example of the merging of two mediums. Gold and diamonds are a new material for Emin, and Webster became her guide. For New York artist Ilya Fedotov-Fedorov, titanium, which he was introduced to by artists from Epic Jewellery (creative duo Anna Minakova and Zakhar Borisenko) became a completely new material for his work.

But the exhibition is not only and not so much about collaboration. It is about those jewellers who became artists and thus continue not only the work of Cartier or Boucheron, but also Salvador Dali, Calder, de Saint Phalle and other greats who turned to precious stones and metals as a medium for their art.

Not limited to precious stones and metals, Ilgiz Fazulzyanov's works with various hot enamel techniques, including miniature painting, which demonstrate his incredible artistic style and technical mastery. Dickson Yewn's craft is an outstanding example of the connection between the art of the past and the present. The artist reimagines traditional Chinese themes in art into thoroughly modern interpretations. It as if he wants to collide the past and the future by combining high-tech ceramic and ancient symbolic motifs such as hibiscus and lily of the valley. Traditional material does not mean traditional use case as Stephen Webster's work tells us. His famous duplets demonstrate a new take on an old method. This can also be said of his general approach to art jewellery through revolutionary vision and rock ‘n’ roll.

The work of American artist Alexander Laut is a symbiosis of irony and a classical approach to creating high jewellery. Laut studied the latter while working for Harry Winston. Postmodernist is the word that comes to mind after witnessing works by Konstantin Chaykin in the related genre of high-end watchmaking. His sketches, which are also on display, are an interesting demonstration of the complexity of working with this field, which combines art and micro-engineering.

So who is John Goldsmith? Is it Emin or Fedotov-Fedorov? Yewn, Epic, Webster, Chaykin, Laut, Fazulzyanov? Undoubtedly. We Are Art - the title of the exhibition reads, is yet another play on words: the letters can add up to the words Wear Art. "Wear Art" - says the exhibition to us. And this is an invitation to co-create because the artists' works interact with the body. Just as land-art is embedded into the landscape, so a work of art jewellery lives on the body. So, who is John Goldsmith? It's everyone involved in art jewellery. It's you and me. 

Alexander Shchurenkov
Curator, journalist and art critic
New York