Despite having never designed any jewelry or visited the island of Capri until recently, the iconoclastic artist Marina Abramović has gamefully joined forces with Chantecler Capri.
In what seems to have been one of the more al fresco approaches to sharing the news of a collaboration, the island, which is located in the Gulf of Naples just a few nautical miles from the Peninsula of Sorrento, welcomed the artist late last month for a public event entitled “Breathing Rocks.”
The Chantecler x Marina Abramović capsule collection is inspired by Abramović’s art and the island’s primordial forces. The preview initiative — held at the Tragara vista where the towering Faraglioni rocks rise from the sea in the distance — didn’t just have the municipal administration’s support, Capri’s Mayor Paolo Falco was on hand, as were its councilors Salvatore Ciuccio and Melania Esposito. They weren’t just there to show some face time, but to relay, on behalf of the community, the value of the cultural dialogue that Abramović’s presence brought.
The Serbian-born conceptual artist’s body of work includes videos, soundscapes, installations, photographs and solo performances including the seminal “The Artist Is Present.” During a three-month run at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2010, Abramović sat unblinkingly every day, as thousands of strangers lined up to have the chance to stare back at her.
Chantecler’s creative director, Maria Elena Aprea, was responsible for corralling Abramović, with help from art director and stylist Andrea Lazzari and the Modern Art Museum of Shanghai’s artistic director Shai Baitel. For “Breathing Rocks,” the artist sat down with Baitel and journalist and author Cesare Cunaccia, whose books include “Capri Dolce Vita.” A Q&A session with attendees took place at the end of the program.
During the conversation, the artist spoke of how she has explored areas that relate to art and design, but this was her first foray into jewelry design in her decades-long career, Baitel said Monday. The Chantecler endeavor was “a natural continuation” of Abramović’s [‘Transforming Energy’] exhibition at the Modern Art Museum in Shanghai, which dealt with stones, minerals and energy and which wound down in March, he said.
In turn, the artist designed with Lazzari the concept of the three stones, which references the island’s natural phenomenon of the Faraglioni. Each stone is meant to have its own energy, which is in line with the artist’s design philosophy. Intent on extending the philosophy about energy that she had used with Baitel in the MAM Shanghai show, Abramović kept going back to their discussions about curating energy.
“I said, ‘We don’t curate the physical. We curate the metaphysical.’ She said, ‘OK, so there’s a great jeweler of the necklaces, but the importance is the energy that the stones give you. Now you have this halo that is kind of a secret. It is part of the goodness that the stones bestow on you.’ It’s curious because this is not an art exhibition, but it’s a relative philosophy to what’s behind the art,” Baitel said.
Accustomed to speaking with Abramović several times a week and sometimes several times a day, Baitel said, “She loves fashion. It’s only been in the past year or two that she’s speaking more about how fashion is part of what she does.” (As part of the endeavor, Abramović received a dress designed by Italian label Crida, which was created by its founders Cristina Parodi and Daniela Palazzi.)
In the past, the artist has turned up at fashion shows for Prada, Versace, Jil Sander, MM6, Ferragamo and other brands. She once collaborated with Riccardo Tisci too on the art project that was entitled “Contact.” Last year Abramović debuted skin care and wellness products as part of the Abramović Longevity Method and she joined forces with the Italian brand Massimo Dutti for Miami Art Week 2024. More recently, she rolled out a NFT project with TAEX “Marina Abramović Element.”
Founded in 1947 by Pietro “Chantecler” Capuano, an heir to a family of the Neapolitan jewelers, with his friend Salvatore Aprea, the brand started with one store on Capri. Jet setters like Audrey Hepburn and Ingrid Bergman Rossellini were among the early fans. Aprea’s heirs Gabriele, along with his wife Teresa and sisters Maria Elena and Costanza, now run the business, which has headquarters in Milan and a production center in Valenza Po, an area known for its goldsmiths.
Presented with collaborative opportunities all the time, Abramović liked that Chantecler has such an elegant boutique on Capri, as well as for its reutation for being a brand for “people in-the-know like Jackie Kennedy, as opposed to being proliferated for the mass market,” Baitel said. “She liked that it was unique like an original piece of art,” he said.
Due out in September, the assortment includes a necklace, bracelet and earrings. Next year Abramović’s exhibition will debut at the Gallerie dell’Accademia, during the Biennale in Venice. “She will be turning 80 next year. And this is like the Oscars of the art world,” Baitel added.