Fabio Salini

Fabio Salini, born and bred in Rome, is one of the world’s most innovative and individualistic independent designer jewellers, known for his powerful, graphic design aesthetic. Enthralled from a young age by gemstones and minerals, Salini studied geology at the University of Rome, before working first at Cartier and then Bulgari, learning design, gem-buying, production and retail.  He launched his own collection, in Rome, at Petochi, one of the oldest of Italian jewellers,  in 1999 – prophetically, on the eve of the new Millennium, Fabio Salini began to invent a whole new visual language for jewellery.  His work is distinguished by his exploration of materials, from rock crystal, through silk, leather, shagreen, to titanium and matt, black, industrial carbon fibre. At the same time, this continual experimentation demonstrates his drive towards technical ingenuity, through which to express his conceptual, contemporary approach to the millennia-old art of the jewel.  He shows his Italian affinity with colour and his love of gemstones, and his instinctive understanding of line, form, composition and structure, the harmony of proportions, the balance or contrast of textures, light and shade, transparency and opacity, humble and precious.  Even more, his brand of modernism is underpinned with a sense of history, his jewels subtly layered with cultural depths and meanings, influences and inspirations, from tribal, through Art Deco to 1980s glamour. For instance, he links his use of black carbon fibre to Victorian mourning jewels and challenges the ultimate classicism of the pearl necklace, as seen to perfection in the jewels in New Modernism. In the same way, Salini re-imagines his favourite symbols and motifs including the knot, buckle and chain link, all evoking connections, the bonds and ties of possession, while the cuff bangle, as shown in this exhibition, is a tribute to the strength of modern femininity.  Today, from his private atelier in the heart of Rome’s historic centre, and his Victorian artist’s studio in London, Salini leads the way forward into a new and dynamic expression of 21st century modernism in jewels.