Contemporary jewelry artist Anna Hu has achieved a lot during her years of creating rare and exceptional jewels. However, being a cultural ambassador is something that came as a surprise to her.
Although Hu resides in New York, the Taiwanese native remains close to China and her jewels often depict Chinese cultural themes. She was invited to present a selection of her creations at the State Historical Museum in Moscow in an exhibition titled, “Treasures from the Anna Hu Collection,” May 28 – 30. The group of 20 jewels was billed as the “innovation of Chinese art through contemporary jewels.” All of the jewels are from her first book, “Symphony of Jewels, OPUS1,” published in 2012.
In addition, a separate piece, “China Red Magpie Brooch,” was chosen to be placed in the museum’s permanent collection. This makes Hu the first Asian artist to both host an exhibition at the museum and have one of her works placed in its permanent collection.
“This is such an important moment in my life as I feel so honored and proud to be the cultural ambassador of China on the international stage by bringing my Chinese-inspired art creations to the world,” Hu said.
Prior to the event, Hu told me the importance of the exhibition as a cultural meeting between China and Russia. “Never in my life would I have thought that my works would help bridge the cultures between the two countries,” she said. “With this important mission in mind, I’m determined to become the bridge between different cultures.”
The Magpie brooch is inspired by the artwork, “Immortal Blossoms in an Everlasting Spring” by Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining/朗士宁), an 18th Century Jesuit missionary and a painter in the imperial court of China. The painting is on display at the Chinese National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan. As is typical in Ann Hu’s creations, while the theme is Asian, the brooch is created in Paris with western craftsmanship techniques. Also consistent with Hu’s works, the jewel combines a variety of gems, including multi-colored sapphires, a South Sea pearl, paraiba, peridot, moonstone and diamonds.
She describes the depiction of the magpie, flowers and pearl as “managing the culture between traditional Chinese painting and European renaissance realism.”
It’s been a busy time for Hu. After a successful first showing at the Paris Biennale in September, 2017, she has been working on her second book, “Symphony of Jewels, OPUS 2,” scheduled to launch this fall. In addition, she is the first Asian jeweler to be officially admitted into the Comité Vendôme Paris (a committee of Place Vendôme jewelers). The means she will likely be showing her jewels along with the other Place Vendôme jewelers during the first week of July.
