Cecilia Martinez Amanzi | Fluorescent Nature

Artist: Cecilia Martinez Amanzi, France
Materials: nylon monofilament, waxed thread
Size: 9

Artist Statement: Using textile elements as main components, such as threads, cables, or any type of strand, I explore new ways of transforming the principles of basketry and weaving into pieces of wearable art. The result are pieces that have voluminous shapes and at the same time are light to wear.

Artist Bio: Argentinian-born architect and jeweler, based in France since the end of 2019. She entered the word of jewelry in 2011 when she started taking private lessons in Buenos Aires while working as an apprentice bench jeweler, learning the process of lost wax techniques. In parallel she also participated in workshops with several Argentinian textile artists.

In 2013 she left Argentina to focus on her architect career, since then she has lived in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Lagos (Nigeria), Pointe Noire Congo) and Paris (France). From 2016 to 2019, while working in Congo, she felt the need to reconnect with jewelry and mounted a small atelier in her house that allowed her to continue expanding her experimentation with lost wax. Inspired by the nature that surround her, such as branches and eucalyptus fruits, she developed her collection called ‘nature surréaliste’.

Throughout the progress of the pandemic lockdowns, finding new ways of doing jewelry was imperative for her. During this complex time, she started using textile elements as main components for her jewelry pieces, such as threads, cables, and nylon filaments. She started exploring new ways of transforming the principles of basketry into pieces of wearable art.

Some of her textile pieces were exhibited in Buenos Aires in the 5th and 6th Salon of Contemporary Textile Jewelry from the Centro Argentino de Arte Textil in 2021 and 2022 respectively, her necklace "in the mood for love" obtained the 2nd prize from the Salon in 2022. In addition, two of her necklaces were displayed in the printed catalogue of Adornaxis gallery.

At the end 2022, she developed pieces from her collection ‘nature surréaliste’ in brass and Swarovski crystals for Lebanese fashion designer Zuhair Murad that were used in the photo shooting of his ready to wear collection SS23.

This ring was part of Battle of the Rings: Ring Smackdown 2023, an online exhibition and competition. View the entire collection HERE, view the matches HERE, and learn more HERE.