Alberto Giorgi. Tradition and kinetic art

Alberto Giorgi worked in the Sixties at the time when programmed and kinetic art were emerging and the contrast between tradition and technology was sharply felt. From the very beginning of his artistic debut, the work of the artist was characterized by cosmicality, projection into the future. The jewelery in unique example recalled moonscapes, constellations, sidereal bodies and planetary orbits distinguished by strict rules of geometry.

Similar to technical and complex mechanisms, fantastic and alarming at the same time, the sculptural works of the jeweler acquired kinetic potential and movement. Smooth and solid surfaces came to live thanks to the rotation of spherical elements inside rectangular or circular forms.

 

Giorgi was born at San Lorenzo in Campo, in the province of Pesaro, Italy, on the 25 of August ,  1947. In 1959 he moved to Fano, where he studied at the “Apolloni” Art School  with Edgardo Mannucci and Vittorio Rubiu.

Byzantine crosses, rings and bracelets referring to barbarian tribes, gold necklaces covered with enamel and stones testified the unquenchable curiosity of the young student. He worked with various metals, different kinds of textures and surfaces, stones, studied junctions and combinations. In this period  linear and clear elements appeared, which crossed out the massive shapes static. Georgi defined this time as a “formal search.”

 

In 1965 the artist participated in his first collective exhibition, organized by the School of Arts and the 53rd collective exhibition Opera Bevilacqua La Massa in Venice.

His early works took the form of little kinetic sculptures which generally had a rectangular shape, unexpected fissures on the surface and the intertwining of metal elements. The artist’s individual style had taken shape: the physical dinamic sense of movement certainly prevailed.

In 1966 Giorgi organized the ATOMO group in Fano, where the artists shared their experience, explored new materials and techniques. In 1967 the artist opened his studio and devoted himself entirely to designing and creating jewelry. He also realized metal and silver sculptures.

This brooch is a miniature copy of the artist’s sculpture, made of chrome iron, in 1970.

In 1969 the sculptor Pericle Fazzini introduced Giorgi to the Roman jeweler Masenza. He participated in collective exhibitions with  masters such as Afro, Capogrossi, Franchina, Uncini, Cannella, Calò.

 

 

Later Giorgi moved to Florence, where he opened his workshop and collaborated with Franco Torrini, who in the 60’s and 70’s decided to unite  jewelery tradition and art. The artists who worked with Torrini, used the expressive possibilities of metals and stones to reflect the creative facets of their artistic experience.

 

As a result  eccentric interpretations appeared: they were distinguished by dynamism, plasticity, innovative spirit, and their purpose was to reclaim the authority and artistic significance of jewelry art that had been influenced by the massive industrial production.

Giorgie participated in international collective and private exhibitions: the Garfinckels in Washington, the Triennale Museum in Milan, the Venice Biennale, the Munich Jewelry Exhibition,  exhibitions in China and Brazil.

His jewelry was not the result of a synthesis, on the contrary, it fascinated the public by bringing  different elements together. Giorgi did not care about jewelry construction or its technical side, he was interested in its evocative aspect, tapping into  the sensual viewer’s imagination and inviting him to interact with the object.

 

At the age of 25 Giorgi hadalready become a recognized jeweler, and his adornments were distinguished by his original and individual style. In 1972 Princess Margaret of Great Britain visited the exhibition of sculptor Henry Moore at Fort Belevedere in Florence. The Mayor of the city chose Giorgi’s golden brooch  as a gift for the royal guest.

His jewelry isn’t just an aesthetic object to wear. It is a complex mechanisms that combines the artistic and technical origins of the 1960s. Engineering development, the relationship between machine and man, mechanics, invading space like instruments of celestial measurement, the whole consideration about time and the cultural period found expression and image in the sculptural works of Alberto Giorgi.

 

 

 

 

REFERENCES:

1. Franco Solmi. Gioielli e sculture di Alberto Giorgi. Grafis Edizioni di Arte, Bologna, 1974
2. Marilena Mosco. Art of jewelry and artists’ jewels in the 20th century. Giunti Editore, 2001.
3. https://www.torrini1369.com/archivio/it/opere-museo-torrini-1369/artisti-contemporanei.html