Impressionen #7: Schmuck und Nageldesign à la Geiger

Letzten Monat stieß ich während einer Suche nach #rupprechtgeiger bei Instagram auf folgendes Bild:

Nail Art by Ami Vega

Es war mir sofort klar, dass ich zu dieser Person Kontakt aufnehmen musste! Es stellte sich heraus, dass die Nageldesignerin Ami Vega die Nägel von Erin Wahed von Bande des Quatres, einem kanadischen Schmucklabel, hier gestaltet hatte. Das war jedoch nicht das Ende des Staunens: Erin Wahed, die Designerin dieser Firma, hatte sogar eine Kette entworfen, die „Rupprecht“ heißt und von der Form des gedrückten Kreises inspiriert ist. Erin war so nett uns einen Post über das Zustandekommen dieser Kette und der Nagelkunst zu schreiben:

Four years ago, I founded the boutique jewelry line Bande des Quatres, a collaboration with my mother, Janis Kerman, a world renowned Canadian goldsmith. The philosophy of the brand has always been to redefine everyday shapes while creating a sense of illusion. Finding inspiration in art history, each collection is rooted in a different movement or medium. The first collection inspired by the Bauhaus Masters, the second Architects, the third Modern Abstract Photographers and the latest, artists we consider to be Minimalists. To push the concept even further, each piece is named after a specific artist, either by first or last name.

Before Bande des Quatres, I wore little to no jewelry on my hands. I found it uncomfortable, but the more I wore, the more my hands attracted the attention of onlookers.

I have always gravitated towards nail polish and the ability to express oneself through color. I clearly recall being a young child sitting on the bathroom counter as my mother gave me a pedicure of various colors and patterns, each toe being unique.

With the art behind Bande des Quatres as inspiration, I began adorning my nails with nail art. A friend suggested I follow the amazing nail artist Ami Vega (@amivnails) on Instagram. I immediately gravitated towards her hand painted nails inspired by Basquiat.  I knew I needed Ami in my life. I reached out through Instagram and secured an appointment. For our first session the goal was for her to paint my nails inspired by 10 of the artists in the Photography collection – each nail getting a photograph. It was in celebration of the launch of the collection. She did an impeccable job, recreating the art on my tiny digit canvases. This was the beginning of an amazing friendship and collaboration that has now been going on for over a year and a half.

We are dedicated to always creating something new and exciting, from nails inspired by Lisa Frank, to Gumby, to tattoo artists, to street art, to artists that inspired Bande des Quatres, such as Alexander Calder, Sol LeWitt, to most importantly in the case of this piece, the incredible Rupprecht Geiger.

I discovered Geiger’s work when researching artists I considered to be Minimalists as inspiration for our latest collection. After a visit to Dia:Beacon this past summer, I was drawn to the work of Donald Judd, Imi Knoebel, Blinky Palermo, Ellsworth Kelly, to name a few. I began scouring the Internet for more artists which I felt lived in the same world and that was when I fell upon Geiger’s work. His use of bright colors and shapes fascinates me.  His work speaks to our philosophy of redefining everyday shapes. I was sold and I knew I had to name a piece after him. I chose a necklace with a half circle wire that is closed with rubber because so much of his work plays with the circle.

Kette „Rupprecht“ von Bande des Quatres

Pre Collection IV’s launch, Ami and I collaborated on a set inspired by a number of his works. I had sent her various pieces to work off of and we sketched them out before beginning painting.  It has definitely become one of our favorite sets.

Skizzen zum Naildesign

I feel fortunate to have stumbled upon Rupprecht Geiger’s work as it has truly completed our Minimalist survey and of course, made my nails very cool at the same time.

Vielen Dank, Erin Wahed, für diesen tollen Blogeintrag! Es war sehr spannend für uns zu sehen, wie die Kunst von Rupprecht Geiger sogar im fernen Kanada weiterhin eine Inspirationsquelle bietet. Schade, dass Ami Vega so weit weg ist, sonst hätte das Archiv Geiger Team am kommenden Internationalen Museumstag ausgefallene Fingernägel!

Fotos: Courtesy of Erin Wahed