This Isn’t Your Family’s Good Silver: A Modern Take on an Old Idea
An exhibition that updates the old idea of heirloom silver opened last week at Modern Living’s upscale furniture showrooms in West Hollywood.
The collection--silver pitchers, vases, bowls and flatware--was designed by 23 leading artists and architects in Italy during the past 50 years. As elegant as artwork, the pieces are intended for everyday use.
Their minimalistic lines and fluted edges are a dramatic contrast to the ornate candelabra, epergnes, trays and coffee urns that characterize traditional household silver, but no less appealing.
“Since the Renaissance, silver has been the symbol of prestige in upper-class households,” said curator Lucio Lezzi, who brought the exhibition to Los Angeles. “Now I want people to rediscover it.”
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A designer who has been a silversmith himself, Lezzi assembled the exhibition in cooperation with the Italian Institute of Culture to dramatize how silver design has been influenced by the post-World War II enthusiasm for plastics, chrome and other contemporary materials. He also wanted to show off the skill of such well-known Italian designers as Vico Magistretti, Carlo Scarpa, Olga Finzi and others.
“When you see something baroque [a style characterized by ornate details], the ability of the artist is evident in the elaborate ornamentation,” Lezzi said. “Here it is much more subtle.”
He picked up a seamless sculpted carafe with an olive wood handle by Gabriele de Vecchi. “This is a perfect piece--it’s functional and it’s fun. And the welding is so subtle you can’t even recognize it.” On a practical note, the modern metal also has a higher ratio of silver to copper, which means it requires less polishing, he said.
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Titled “Argenti Italiana Selezione Design” (Silver Design Italian Selection), the traveling show opened in Rome in 1996 and has toured galleries in Europe and South America.
The collection seems entirely at home in the airy showrooms of Modern Living, which last year moved from Melrose Avenue to 8775 Beverly Blvd., east of Robertson Boulevard.
“Silver is very close to our philosophy of functional furniture with clean lines,” said store manager Roberta Marino. “These pieces are not just to look at, but to use.”
They are also to buy. Although the show prototypes are not for sale, they can be ordered, she said.
Prices range from $300 to $14,000, with a concentration of pieces in the $1,500 to $2,000 range. The exhibition, however, is free and runs through Feb. 13.
Connie Koenenn can be reached at connie.koenenn@latimes.com.
