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The dreamy landscapes and subtle palettes of French Impressionist artists informed the colors Feng J selected for this ethereal brooch. The artist explained, “My idea is to paint with gemstones, just as the Impressionists painted with light, hue, and shadow." While working in Paris, Feng J created the “floating” setting used in Blue Anthurium, using gently colored electroplated gold to help the metalwork disappear into the background of her design. Feng J’s oeuvre builds on the work of Chinese jewelry artists like Wallace Chan, Anna Hu, and others who introduced new materials, like anodized titanium, and a bold scale into haute joaillerie (French for “high jewelry”), though she utilizes more traditional materials. Her subtle and innovative style is simultaneously large and highly sculptural but also delicate, appearing as if held together by air.
Blue Anthurium brooch
Feng J (Chinese, born in 1985)
Chinese
2021
Medium/Technique
Electroplated gold, Paraiba tourmaline, aquamarine, purplish spinel, pinkish sapphire, grey spinel, diamond
Dimensions
Overall: 7.5 × 7.3 × 1.9 cm (2 15/16 × 2 7/8 × 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of the artist
Accession Number2023.4
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Brooches
The dreamy landscapes and subtle palettes of French Impressionist artists informed the colors Feng J selected for this ethereal brooch. The artist explained, “My idea is to paint with gemstones, just as the Impressionists painted with light, hue, and shadow." While working in Paris, Feng J created the “floating” setting used in Blue Anthurium, using gently colored electroplated gold to help the metalwork disappear into the background of her design. Feng J’s oeuvre builds on the work of Chinese jewelry artists like Wallace Chan, Anna Hu, and others who introduced new materials, like anodized titanium, and a bold scale into haute joaillerie (French for “high jewelry”), though she utilizes more traditional materials. Her subtle and innovative style is simultaneously large and highly sculptural but also delicate, appearing as if held together by air.
DescriptionFantastical purple and blue gem set brooch in the shape of an anthurium leaf with a large Paraiba tourmaline acting as the plant's blossoming spadix. The gemstones in a “floating" setting, whereby the metal disappears around the stones.
Marks
Feng J
Provenance2023, gift of the artist to the MFA. (Accession Date: February 15, 2023)
CopyrightReproduced with permission.