
Clive Owen and Julianne Moore
Lucire: Can you explain to us how this idea came
together?
Amanda Triossi: This is the second large Bulgari retrospective.
The first one was in 2009 in Roma to celebrate the 125th anniversary
of the first Bulgari boutique in Rome in 1884. The Bulgari house
decided to present our large retrospective in Paris in this special
place (Grand Palais) where it is the first time that a famous jeweller
(such as Bulgari) presents a retrospective in the large nave of
the Grand Palais. This exhibition in Paris is even larger than the
one that was held in Roma. The exhibition in Roma had around 500
objects; here we have 603 objects so there are considerably more
pieces on display. Normally, a retrospective exhibition will only
feature around 300 hundred or 350 objects, so we are presenting
almost double the number!
My job is to find jewellery for the Bulgari house, jewellery
that represents historical importance, creating a permanent retrospective
collection for the house. For Bulgari and me, this process was of
high importance, however it was also a very expensive procedure,
but soon it began to mature and evolve to arrive eventually at this
point.
Here in Paris, it is a special exhibition because most
of the objects that we have exposed are also from a number of people
who have a collection of Bulgari jewellery and who have allowed
us to borrow their collection to show them to the public at the
exhibition. So these particular pieces of jewels were obviously
never seen in an exhibition, they were also never published; it
is an exceptional experience to see them. We see them now, but we
may never see them again later.
From 600 pieces that are featured in this exhibition
there are 40 per cent that come directly from Bulgari, the rest
come from private collectors. Imagine trying to contact people and
convincing them to give us their jewellery. If they accept, they
will not be able to wear their jewellery for various special occasions.
It was a difficult procedure, but I suppose that we
were able to achieve our goal since there is a number of beautiful
jewellery here.
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What was the first thing that went through your mind when you
knew that you will be coming and presenting the exhibition in Paris?
The first time was [takes a deep breath], Oh my gosh!
It was a great challenge!
Now, I am very happy that we succeeded. So far we have
had more than 100,000 visitors, so it is a very big, big success!
It is great to see everyone looking through the glass to look at
all the jewellery
it is very touching. But it is not only
my work, it is also the teams work; but putting all the jewellery
together was my job
Can you explain the idea of visitors entering into a black
diamond structure?
This idea is based upon entering into the heart of a precious stone.
Can you tell us what impression you would like visitors to have
attained when they walked through the exhibition?
It is really important that one looks at the jewellery as artistic
objects, like looking at a statue or a painting. I think people
who love jewellery understand this perspective. It is not only the
question of the number of caratsthis of course does serve
as a part of a piece of jewellerybut it is not the essential
aspect.
How would you describe Bulgari?
I think that Bulgari is about colour and it is also bold as well
as containing a daring element. The jewel should be wearable, mixing
different materials: precious and semi-precious gemstones or porcelain
as youll see. All materials work together to make a
work of art, which is the jewel.
So if I have to sum it up, I would say that Bulgari
is colour, boldness and this daring use of material.
What can you say about the exhibitions success?
Thanks to the success of this exhibition, Bulgari is currently
planning to hold a third retrospective in another continent in September
2011 in Beijing in a national museum in China.
With the Bulgari exhibition landing in Roma, Paris and now Beijing,
do you think that there will be other possible international destinations
in the near future?
Of course, for me, it will be a dream. The problem is how can we
persuade the lenders to give up
surrender their pieces for
such a long time? This is my challenge, trying to find and make
jewels available.
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