Prominent art world figures were in attendance to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the jewellery house Repossi’s Antifer collection last night, at a cocktail party co-hosted by The Art Newspaper. Guests ranging from the artist Daniel Lismore to the Financial Times editor Josh Spero gathered at Toklas restaurant in central London, where they were presented with a new series of artworks created especially for the occasion.
The Repossi brand, founded in 1957 in Turin, Italy, is known for its minimalist motifs and an approach to design inspired by art, nature and architecture. This is reflected in the Antifer collection, which features rings created by hand, using the lost wax casting technique, in which molten metal is poured into a mould shaped by wax. Their motif is recognisable for its protruding peak emerging from an otherwise harmonious shape, while its name derives from the sheer Antifer cliffs in Normandy, France.
Repossi began marking the Antifer anniversary this summer, with the launch of five new rings, as well as three other pieces of high-end jewellery that follow the collection’s philosophies. Among them is necklace with 62 square-cut diamonds set across two pendants. The brand also hosted an exhibition, at Amelie, Maison d’Art in Paris, of work by artists that reinterpreted Antifer’s design through mediums such as sculpture, photography and prints.
At Toklas, the new additions to the collection were displayed in glass vitrines in the centre of the room. Tributes were taken a step further, too, as Repossi revealed a new set of ceramics by the artist Martha Freud made in tribute to Antifer. Freud said in a statement that she wished to respond to the geological origins of the collection—taking it “back to that original ‘rock’ formation by working the motif back into ceramics”. She also responded to artists referenced by Antifer jewellery such as the American minimalist Donald Judd. The resulting works, which were displayed across one wall, range from stacked ring-like candles to a wall work featuring white porcelain painted on black. And a series of framed light sculptures covered in volcanic sand which, when illuminated, turn an alluring gold.
Martha Freud, Study in Stone, Stacks and Sand or They Tried to Bury Us, They Didn’t Know We Were Seeds”, 2023, part of the new series created in response to Antifer collection
The newly commissioned pieces struck a chord with guests, with Lismore saying: “I love Martha, I love her ideas and I love that she’s painted in porcelain, which I’ve never seen before. It’s really hard to work with [as a material]—I don’t think people realise.“
Martha went into more detail on the evening: “I keep having more and more ideas of what I want to do with this collection: even last night as I was falling asleep. It’s so inspiring and [the motif is] such a beautiful shape. What I love about it is it’s a suggestion—where you take it can be loud and shiny but it can also be quite discreet and subtle.“
Josh Spero, associate arts editor at the Financial Times, with Martha Freud and Anne de Vergeron, Repossi’s chief executive officer
Photo: David Owens
Anne de Vergeron, the chief executive officer of Repossi, says: “Most of the time, our pieces draw inspiration from art. I’m discovering Martha’s final works for the first time now… and I’m absolutely amazed by the variety. What I really like is the fact that she is using porcelain. It’s such a nice addition to what we’ve done previously. It’s a completely different perspective.”
