GEM
In 1967 artist and designer, GianCarlo Montebello founded GEM, a goldsmith workshop dedicated to working with artists. Over the following decade, GEM produced limited edition jewelry designs by more than fifty artists including Lucio Fontana, Niki de Saint Phalle, Alex Katz, Ettore Sottsass and Gio Pomodoro, to name a few.
GEM’s production of artist-made jewels ended in 1978 when Montebello was the victim of theft and all of his work with artists was stolen. Despite its short-history and small editions, GEM’s works have been widely celebrated and exhibited around the world.
Arnaldo was born in 1926 in Morciano, Emilia Romagna, Italy, and he first worked as a restorer on public buildings. Giò was born in 1930 in Orciano di Pesaro, Italy, and he initially trained to become a land surveyor. They both trained in goldsmithing, but Arnaldo left the craft to work as a set designer before entering the world of sculpture. This experience introduced Arnaldo to concepts of “ideology, myth and form,” leading to an emotional sense of baroque drama in his sculptures. Arnaldo honed his craft in metalwork exclusively, while Giò explored multiple mediums including fiberglass, colored marbles, clay, and wood in his sculptures. In 1956, Giò was invited to exhibit at the Venice Biennale, and in 1959 his work was on display at Kassel in Germany. Three years after Giò, Arnaldo was invited to exhibit at the Venice Biennale in 1962. Moving to the United States in 1966, Arnaldo became a professor of sculpture, teaching first at Stanford University and later at University of California, Berkeley. The work of both brothers is held in the permanent collections of museums across the world. Giò’s sculptural creations are on view at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C., the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Museo d’Arte Moderna in Mexico. Arnaldo’s works are on display at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Milwaukee Museum of Art, and Princeton University Art Gallery, among many others.
Auction Results Arnaldo Pomodoro
