Clementina Duarte: architect of gems.

• Author: Mendoca, Casimiro Xavier de

Precise forms, bold contours a distinctive personal style. Clementina Duarte's jewels, inspired by Brazil's baroque and modern architecture and geometric or floral patterns, are outstanding in design, finish and quality, creating for the artist an unmistakable place in the realm of contemporary jewelry.

Brazil's architecture achieved its own distinctive style when Oscar Niemeyer flatly said no to right angles. Clementina Duarte, also an architect, is a member of the generation that helped to inaugurate the golden age of Brazilian architecture. She too opted for curved lines in constructing her own spatial poetry. In many countries today it is not uncommon to find a good architect who is also a talented jewelry designer. Numerous exhibitions have been held in Italy, the United States and Japan to display the creations of artists who work in both fields.

Duarte decided to devote her efforts to creating jewelry, and here, too, her work has found a singular niche in the annals of Brazilian and international artistry. She did not simply transfer the architect's techniques to the realm of jewelry, but rather took full advantage of her expertise in dealing with the concepts of space--both full and empty--and her sense of structures and balance. However, the main thrust of her work is the relationship between human body forms and the jewels used to adorn them. The sinuous lines of her designs always establish a dialogue with the human physique.

Japanese sculptor Isamu Noguchi once lamented the fact that sculpture lost its real meaning when its ritual function disappeared. For the contemporary artist, today's jewelry design embodies that same challenge. After all, its heraldic function is long gone: it no longer serves a ritual purpose, nor does it identify the wearer.

Duarte has rediscovered the pleasure and fascination our ancestors found in bright-hued gems and precious metals. In designing her unique pieces, she plunged deeply into the heart of the matter, depicting that atavistic delight in the wearing of jewelry. And she researched the technical solutions employed by goldsmiths until she was able to establish a comfortable relationship between the jewel and the person who wears it. Duarte's necklaces are supple and malleable, a sequence of segments that cling to the lines of the body. Her bracelets, earrings and rings can be effortlessly used. They are meant to be worn casually, not just for display on special occasions.

For the contemporary...