Photographs, jewelry, archives, and contemporary creations make up the course of Pomellato, The Revolutionary Jeweler, on display at the Palais de Tokyo from June 24.
Palais de Tokyo. Paris
Some exhibitions tell a chronological story. The one imagined by Pomellato Prefers to map out ideas.
At the Palais de Tokyo, the visitor is not invited to follow a succession of years but to traverse several creative territories that have shaped the identity of the Milanese house since its foundation in 1967. Style, savoir-faire, color, image and femininity constitute the five axes of this exploration conceived by Alba Cappellieri.
From the very first scenes, one can see that: Pomellato It has often gone against established conventions. Where jewelry had still favored a certain formality, the House introduced a more spontaneous relationship with jewelry. Volumes become more flexible, lines more organic, creations designed to accompany movement rather than constrain it.
The chapter dedicated to savoir-faire reveals the importance of chains in this history. A long-considered functional element, the link becomes a matter of invention here. Polished, articulated, hand-formed, it acquires a sculptural presence that testifies to the Italian goldsmith tradition while opening up new formal possibilities.
Further on, color becomes a language in its own right.. Pomellato develops an approach that challenges traditional hierarchies in gemology. The stones interact with each other based on their nuances, transparencies, and contrasts. The creations sometimes seem to borrow their palette from Milanese painting or design rather than from the classic codes of jewelry.
© POMELLATO
But it may be in its relationship with the image that the House made one of its most significant transformations. The photographic campaigns gathered in the exhibition testify to a constant dialogue with the great names of 20th-century photography. From the narrative sophistication of Gian Paolo Barbieri to the powerful compositions of Helmut Newton, these images have helped to build a new representation of femininity in the world of luxury.
Through them, a recurring figure emerges: a self-determined woman, aware of her choices and identity. A presence that goes beyond simple advertising rhetoric but permeates the very history of the Maison. The portraits presented as part of Pomellato for Women extend this reflection by linking jewelry creation to broader societal issues.
With this first exhibition in Paris, Pomellato Ultimately, it offers more than just a look at its heritage. The exhibition reveals how a jewelry house can become an observatory of the aesthetic, cultural, and social transformations that have marked the last decades.
