Matteo Bonafede the great experience of a young maestro
WHEN ART MEETS MASTERY OF CRAFT
In the contemporary world (in the world of today), jewelry has lost his traditional purpose, to prove the prosperity of the masters on earth as it is in heaven.
Pieces of modern jewelry (Arts of modern goldsmith) speak about the skills, the ability of the goldsmith, if anything about the style of who choose to wear them.
Metaphorically if the dress that covers the body is the sentence, jewels are the punctuation.
MATTEO BONAFEDE
when it comes to jewelry Matteo Bonafede is very relevant representative of the present days. He was born in Valenza in 1974 and inherited this vocation (passion )from his goldsmith father. In the paternal laboratory he learned what he defines as “know how”, he came to know materials, gestures and the fundamentals techniques to get to where he is now, always trying to innovate.
It was fundamental for him to combine crafts and culture to improve his knowledge. He decided to undertake philosophical studies at the university of Pavia, a pointless study that he decided to pursue just for the pleasure of learning.
In 1998 he decided to settle in S. Sebastiano Curone where he also lives nowdays with his wife, Greta Penacca and his children Elia and Emma.
In 1999 opens his laboratory where pursuing precision and dedication, working not only with noble materials but also with stones, hydraulic seal, level, steal, ropes and so on.
These are the years when he is nominated Master of Arts from the Artisan Excellence of Piemonte. Furthermore, he wins the National Prize Artisan Product presenting a multifunctional jewel.
The level in his professional life increases when he comes to know the Master GianCarlo Montebello in 2002. Together they will build a relationship of trust, friendship and intense collaboration that will last until 2020, year in which the great Master unfortunately disappears.
“If philosophy can take the ground away from under your feet, GianCarlo encouraged me to undertake my limits step by step, learning new techniques and even to discover new ones. He pretended from me what he hasn’t pretended from anyone else, pushing me to a constant evolution”.
GIANCARLO MONTEBELLO AND MATTEO BONAFEDE: THE IDEAL PARTNERSHIP
The close relationship between he two Masters, the empathy, create the condition for Montebello to entrust Matteo with the task to replicate the jewels designed in collaboration with artists between the 60s and the 70s and realized with the signature GEM. It was about an editorial project of artist’s jewel founded by Montebello and his wife Teresa Pomodoro. The project involved around fifty artists, like, César, Sonia Delaunay, Piero Dorazio, Lucio Fontana, Hans Richter, Larry Rivers, Niki de Saint Phalle, Jesus Soto, Alex Katz e Man Ray, who he always considered as a guide and a teacher other than a friend.
Montebello suffered a terrible theft in 1978, there was nothing left from the GEM collection.
Since then the artist only produced “body ornament”, as he used to define them, designed by him.
Meeting Matteo gave him back the desire to reproduce some of the pieces of the famous GEM collection.
Matteo, about this experience, says, “I progressively got the capacity to understand the perception of the authors-artists and to transmit their message trought the creation of their jewels”. As a musician in front of the score of a composer.
Matteo Bonafede, his current activities
Bonafede restores gold and silver pieces of Fausto Melotti for his foundation.
He collaborates with (works with) the editor and collector Diana Kuppers for the creation of new editions of the artist Gunther Huecker. “I just finished a piece for Gunther Huecker” Matteo says, “Unfortunately GianCarlo never saw it completed. I can still hear what he could have said to me, for example that the needle of the pin is too hard…”.
He works with Friedman Benda, of the homonymous New York gallery, on the creation of jewelry for GEM and for the artist Misha Kahn.
He never stops his personal studys. Matteo Bonafede takes part at many exhibitions. He wins the international contest of design “VeDeRe” in 2008 with a gadget dedicated to the royal residence of Venaria Reale.
Nine years later, together with the master Montebello signs a new project: “Over”.
They get the honorable mention at the international contest Wearable Expressions, in Palo Alto, California.
In 2014 he meets the designer Franco Mello with whom collaborates in the "Sfioro" collection.
Since his debut (since the beginning), Matteo Bonafede actively participates at debates on Italian vanguard handcraft. He wrote the “Manifesto of Innovative Handcraft” with paper and comments of Achille Bonito Oliva and Michelangelo Pistoletto. He founded and leaded the National association of Artisan Artist of which is the Honorary President. He curates exhibitions of Applied Arts and takes part, as speaker, at conferences and seminar on art and craftmanship.
With the support of Montebello he created exhibitions, become later on Internationals, but he also taught, hold debates, meetings with critics (including Philip Daverio in 2012), politics and experts.
Goal: put together knowledge and know-how with Art.
Matteo Bonafede, the project
Surely keep bringing to life the pieces designed by GianCarlo Montebello as the pieces of GEM, a legacy (an heritage) of knowledge which is unique and unforgettable.
Even crafting Montebello’s jewels, Matteo keeps going from where he stopped: to work with contemporary artists, creating their designs for art jewelry.
A piece of art, a jewel messenger of joy, is something meant to live through time. Matteo falls silent, thinks and then says: “you know, to make up for obscenity, human being seeks beauty, trying to replicate it in real life. If he doesn’t the balance would lean in favor of the sins committed by men”.
by Benedetta Barzini, March 2021
