Esther de Beaucé: Editor of Artists’ Jewelry with MiniMasterpiece

In a little over 10 years, she has turned her gallery into the place to be for artists’ jewelry, helping to shine a light on this little-known field of artistic expression.

In 2012, you opened MiniMasterpiece. What exactly does your work as an editor of artists’ jewelry involve?
I sell contemporary artists’ jewelry whose creation I initiate. In other words, I bring necklaces, bracelets and earrings into being by working with artists — sculptors, painters, video artists, designers and architects — and then supporting them in the development and production phases. The work of Phillip King, Wang Keping, Jean-Luc Moulène and Lee Ufan was a very long way from jewelry, and I encouraged them to explore this sphere, as Picasso, Calder, Arman and Arp did in the past. In general, each piece is produced in an edition of 8 to 10, with 2 or 4 artist’s proofs, the idea being to keep to the traditional number of 12 used with bronze sculptures. The first to accept my invitation was François Morellet, a painter and sculptor working with geometric abstraction. In 2013, Sophia Vari, another painter and sculptor, put her trust in me, though I was an “unknown” and she was very famous. We worked together for the first ten years of the gallery, also the last decade of her life.

You were a pioneer in artists’ jewelry, although at the time you never wore any…
My approach arose through a love for contemporary artists more than for jewelry. I had loved working with painters and sculptors for the art gallery I’d recently closed, because, sadly, it never really took off. Jewelry was a way to continue working with them. I had a lot to learn. I was the only one doing this at the time, but back in 1975, François Dalle, CEO of L’Oréal and owner of the Artcurial Gallery, edited jewelry by Arman, Sonia Delaunay, Giorgio De Chirico, Takis and François-Xavier Lalanne. François Hugo also edited jewelry by Picasso, Marx Ernst and Dorothea Tanning. My main influence was my mother, Diane Venet, who was married to Bernar Venet, so I spent time with Arman, César, Frank Stella and Sol LeWitt. I remember her buying and wearing really extravagant jewelry… not always easy for a little girl to live up to! She started an incredible collection of artists’ jewelry, including a Jeff Koons, a very rare Rauschenberg, a Man Ray, an extraordinary necklace by Louise Bourgeois and some Fontanas.

Is artists’ jewelry just a miniature reproduction of an art work?
Not at all. The piece must express the artist’s identity and their recognizable style, while also being a new work. We find this subtle balance in Pablo Reinoso’s brooch, made of undulating gold strips reminiscent of his “Spaghetti” benches. Françoise Pétrovitch’s “Éclats de larmes” (“Tear Splinters”) necklace evokes the little things in life and the intimacy she tirelessly explores in her paintings. Jean Grisoni’s driftwood and tortured metal chains evoke his furniture. Joana Vasconcelos’ necklace, with its XXL volume and 285 beads of different sizes, resonates with the flamboyance of her monumental accumulations. As a discipline, jewelry lets them try out techniques and confront new constraints: scale, wearability and precious metal.

Surprisingly enough, artists’ jewelry does not have the same tax status as artworks.
Yes: it’s considered an everyday consumer item, with VAT at 20%. And that’s even if the artists make it themselves, as with Calder; even if it’s a unique piece; even if it’s in solid gold. It’s all a question of wearability. In the eyes of the taxman, César’s “Compression” with a micro-bail is a pendant, not a work of art! Unlike lithographs by Picasso or Dalí, which qualify for reduced VAT for up to 30 copies. Let’s hope that the General Tax Code will change one day soon!

How important is the role of your goldsmiths in this creative process?
Most jewelry is edited in gold or silver, but no artist is capable of casting, soldering or polishing, apart from Faust Cardinali and Jean Grisoni, who produce their own jewelry. So it’s up to the goldsmiths to convert their designs and prototypes. Their role in development and production is so essential that in the 1950s, Braque nicknamed Heger de Löwenfeld “the extension of my hand”. It’s not just a question of finding technical solutions: goldsmiths must be able to really enter an artist’s world and interpret their intentions. In my case, I work with two regular goldsmiths: Lisandros Heretis has worked with the Greek sculptor Takis, and Hui-Young Jover collaborated with Claude Lalanne until her death in 2019.

Does your role as editor also involve financing production, and therefore taking risks?
Yes, it does. I look for consistency between the artist’s price index and the project’s overall cost. These days, I don’t launch as quickly as I used to into the production of a solid gold piece, as costs soon become astronomical, and it will then be difficult to sell. That’s why I very often propose silver and/or silver gilt versions. This financing makes me the co-owner of the jewel: I hold the exploitation rights, the artist has the copyright.

In the end, your job involves doing all you can to highlight each artist’s identity…
I always welcome new pieces of jewelry with huge pleasure, and I’m more than happy to wear it these days. I champion the ideas of designers. I stage five solo shows a year: the last one featured Faust Cardinali, and the next one will focus on Wang Keping. The life of the gallery involves a lot of get-togethers, conversations and dinners, as well as my contributions to Design Miami and the special editions produced for museum stores like the Fondation Vuitton and the Centre Pompidou. Recently, a craze for this type of jewelry has emerged. The gallery’s opening was followed by some remarkable exhibitions that contributed to this. In the winter of 2012, there was “Bijoux d’artistes, une collection” at the Crédit Municipal de Paris gallery. In 2017, the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris presented “Medusa”, and in 2018 the Musée des Arts Décoratifs presented “La collection idéale de Diane Venet”. New galleries similar to mine have also opened in France and Italy. I’m delighted: the more there are, the more this market — which is still a niche market — will develop.

How has your job changed over the last ten years?
I still describe myself in the same way, as an editor of artists’ jewelry. But I sometimes step outside my role by only taking charge of distribution. This is the case with some vintage creations by Picasso and Pol Bury, and also with pieces by designers devoted exclusively to jewelry, like Marianne Anselin. Far from being facile, statuesque and empty of meaning, her pieces are akin to artists’ jewelry and resonate with my world in every way.

Worth seeing
“Wang Keping. Dans la lune” (“In the Moon”)
MiniMasterpiece gallery, Paris 75007
Until 21 December, 2024
galerieminimasterpiece.com