The Rago Arts and Auction Center will host an open house on Tuesday, Dec. 2. It will feature Benjamin Macklowe, Macklowe Gallery managing director, speaking on "Art Nouveau: A Jewel in Every Medium." The talk, which starts at 6 p.m., will take place during the preview week for Rago's Great Estates, Jewelry and Silver Auctions.
At the turn of the 20th century, Art Nouveau design found expression in both fine and decorative arts. Jewelry, a medium that falls between these dominating genres, rendered the cultural, economic, and political zeitgeist in precious materials. This lecture reveals the relation between the major motifs of Art Nouveau jewelry, the whiplash line, the femme-fleur, the symbolist and emotional interpretation of nature and the larger themes of the period. By looking at the ways in which great designers drew upon the Art Nouveau environment to imagine and create a new aesthetic, Mr. Macklowe explicates the Art Nouveau movement through the medium of jewelry.
Benjamin Macklowe joined Macklowe Gallery in 1994, was appointed managing director in 2002, and became its president in 2012. Under his leadership Macklowe Gallery has become one of the world's most respected dealer of antique and estate jewelry, French Art Nouveau decorative arts and the entire oeuvre of Louis Comfort Tiffany. The gallery recently celebrated its 40th year on Madison Avenue in New York City.
Mr. Macklowe is a sought-after expert in his field and has served as a lecturer for museum groups and scholarly organizations throughout the nation. In recent years he has sought to shed light on areas of collecting that have never been fully explored, spearheading the publication of "Dynamic Beauty: Sculpture of Art Nouveau Paris" and "Nature Transformed: Art Nouveau Horn Jewelry."
The auction house opens on Dec. 2 at noon. A reception will begin at 5 p.m. To RSVP, call 609-397-9374, ext. 119, or email raac@ragoarts.com. All are welcome.