The English jewellery artist Wendy Ramshaw (1939) was invited to attend the triennial as the special guest; in the period of 1989-1998, she devised the collection “Picasso’s Ladies”, which consists of 66 jewellery pieces and was inspired by paintings of women by Pablo Picasso. It was an excellent opportunity to see the five pieces belonging to the collection in the main exhibition and to listen to, at the triennial seminar, the lecture by Wendy Ramshaw about the process of creating this collection.
Influences and work
Worked as a freelance designer in various applied arts fields from 1960-1970. Influenced by the romance and beauty of machines and space age technology and the structures and rhythms to be found in nature. First one-woman exhibition of contemporary studio jewellery at the Pace Gallery, London, 1970. Continued to work in the jewellery field and exhibited internationally to present date. In 1993 received the first site-specific commission for the Garden Gate at St John's College, Oxford, went on to make Double Screen EH 9681 for the Victoria & Albert Museum. Later undertook many large scale works including the main gates for Sculpture at Goodwood, West Sussex, and the decoration of the new North Doors for Southwark Cathedral. Designed and made on behalf of the New Millennium Experience Company the Gold Medal presented to H.M. Queen Elizabeth II on 31st December 1999 to celebrate the new millennium. Honoured with an O.B.E. for services to the Arts in 1993. Elected R.D.I. (Royal Designer for Industry) in 1999. In 2000, had a one woman exhibition at Contemporary Applied Arts, a collection of jewellery incorporating nanocrystalline diamond on steel. 2002 “Room of Dreams” – the most complete experience to date of mixed media, objects and interior combined. In 2003 honoured with a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire).
I worked for ten years – 1989 to 1998 on a collection called “Picasso's Ladies” exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. I made jewellery for 66 paintings of the women in Picasso’s life. I saw very quickly in these amazing paintings a record of Picasso’s personal history, traced by the portraits of his very different wives, mistresses and friends. I was inspired by images created using a huge variety of materials and working methods.
Ring Set for “Woman sitting in an Armchair” is my response to a 1941 painting of Dora Maar in which fascinating details such as nails and stars are used to create an atmosphere of unrest.
Wendy Ramshaw
