Couples in jewelry

The gallery Rosemarie Jäger regularly exhibits the works of major pairs in jewelry. This time: Annamaria Zanella and Renzo Pasquale.

Annamaria Zanella: Renzo and I first met at Padova Art School. That was in 1980; I was a young student and Renzo Pasquale taught jewellery art. But the workings of Destiny did not bring us together as a couple until twenty years later. One autumn morning, the search for a block of rock crystal took us to a stone-cutter’s in Milan. And it was this stone, this pure, transparent gift of Mother Earth, which made us a couple for the rest of our lives. Our mutual friend the master jeweller Francesco Pavan created our wedding rings and was a witness at our wedding. I always find Renzo’s way of working so striking; it is so completely different from my own. He applies the laws of mathematics and biology, following the path of science even in his creative moments. His expert stone-cutter’s hands shape refined and elegant forms which are pure geometry, yet infused with the equilibrium of the verses of the great Italian poets.

Renzo Pasquale: I studied biology at the University of Padova, and then teaching art, from glyptics to art school, brought me into contact with contemporary jewellery; so I’m self-taught. When I met Annamaria, I was past my first youth: I chose to live my life with her and to devote myself to my art, sharing the daily round with its joys and sorrows. I am fascinated by her breath-taking force, by the energy she puts into her work. I am enchanted by her beautifully balanced search for the colours she wants and by her eclectic combinations of different materials. She studied at Venice Fine Arts Academy, where she learned a working method quite different from the minimalist, geometric approach of the Padova group of goldsmiths.

AM & R: This describes us; this is our story. Our jewellery narrates our lives, our thoughts and our dreams, and our desire to turn matter into beauty.