An intimate and complete journey into the world of Gianluca Pacchioni, sculptor, designer, and master in arts and crafts.

This book is an exploration of the artistic world of Gianluca Pacchioni, from the backstage of his workshop in Milan to his incredible studio-house, as well as finished projects and open-air installations. It also touches on his inspiration, which is drawn from a mix of Italian classicism and Japanese minimalism, with a dash of French seventeenth-century decorative style.

First based in Paris, where Pacchioni became a sculptor in the 1990s, and then in Milan, his hometown, his atelier constantly forges sculptures and limited-edition furniture produced for international clients. As a pioneer in the art and design world, his approach to art is experimental and innovative, and over the years he has shifted from iron to stainless steel, and his most recent works have been made with cast bronze and semiprecious stones and marble.

About the Author:

Federica Sala is an independent curator and design adviser. Olivier Gabet is an art historian and Director of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Alberto Cavalli is General Director of the Cologni Foundation for the Métiers d’Art. Clio Lavau is curator at FILAF, the International Art Book and Film Festival of Perpignan.

A tribute to the sumptuous jewelry and the glamorous history of Van Cleef & Arpels

For more than a century, the designs of the French jewelry house Van Cleef & Arpels have represented the marriage of an unrivaled sense of elegance with an extraordinary level of technical expertise and prowess. The comprehensive monograph Van Cleef & Arpels: The Art & Science of Gems is a glittering, gorgeous tribute to a century of luxurious, glamorous jewelry design and incomparable mastery of materials. Lavishly illustrated with meticulous photographs by Patrick Gries, the book’s pages are filled with sparkling chalcedony, cornelian, rubies, emeralds and colored diamonds, beautifully set off and enhanced by the jeweler’s designs (at alternate moments whimsical or understated, as the materials demand).

Suggesting the complexity and richness of Van Cleef & Arpels’ output, the book is organized thematically around categories such as “Abstractions,” “Couture,” “Nature” and “Icons,” and additionally features some of the legendary stones from the annals of the house’s history, such as the “Blue Princess” sapphire and the “Walska Briolette Diamond” brooch. Texts by art historians, personalities from the fashion world and mineralogists offer context and highlight the full extent of the jeweler’s art. Essential for those who love and lust after jewelry design, this eminently covetable volume celebrates the Van Cleef & Arpels style.