Nadia Morgenthaler will be at PAD Paris, presented by Second Petale Gallery, from April 8 to 12. Many of her sculptural jewelry pieces feature rock crystal—a transparent material that is far from neutral.
By Sandrine Merle.
It all began a few years ago with a chandelier pendant, found at the Flea Market. Nadia Morgenthaler saw in this transparent element—perfectly polished and cut to reflect light—a material to nourish her jewelry practice, which is skillfully structured yet at the same time extremely light and poetic. “The transparency of rock crystal allows the eye to pass through and sometimes seems to dissolve its own materiality, while accentuating the effects of perspective and depth,” explains Nadia Morgenthaler. She was also drawn to the historical, liturgical, and esoteric connotations of this stone. In its reflections, a whole world of purity, preciousness, and the sacred comes to mind: the reliquaries and monstrances of the Middle Ages, the chandeliers of the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, the carved skulls of the Aztecs, the crystal goblets of the Mughal emperors, or even the shaman’s ball.
Absolute purity
For her sophisticated designs, most often earrings, Nadia Morgenthaler favors very pure, highly transparent crystals that are free of inclusions —that is, free of any foreign bodies (gases, fluids, or mineral-type crystals) that might slip in during crystallization. “The random placement of inclusions could create a visual imbalance between the two earrings framing the face. Furthermore, absolute purity allows the contours of the pendants or spheres to remain intact and perfectly defined,” adds Nadia Morgenthaler. Thanks to systems as ingenious as they are imperceptible, these immaterial elements seem to float in space.
Beyond Reality
While being invisible and transparent, rock crystal deflects, amplifies, and distorts reality. It does more than just magnify; it has an incredibly vivid way of capturing and reflecting light. This is why the Greeks saw in this material living water petrified in mid-flow. Rock crystal creates strange, shifting reflections that cannot be found in nature. “It materializes light and shadow into magnificent, abstract forms—black and white,” notes Nadia Morgenthaler. On one of the small rock crystal spheres adorning an earring, a unique optical effect occurs: it reveals the inverted image of the matching earring beside it.
White on White
Transparent, pure, and highly responsive to cutting and polishing, rock crystal is paired with the diamond. Purity against purity, tone on tone—these are sublime a subtle symphony of reflections against a background of blackened gold, so characteristic of Nadia Morgenthaler’s work. One is immediately struck by the contrast of the two brilliances: the crystal’s soft and soothing glow, set against the diamond’s extremely sharp and intense sparkle. Its brilliance also echoes the infinitely subtle and iridescent sheen of fine pink, white, and gray pearls—Nadia Morgenthaler’s other signature material.
Nadia Morgentaler, PAD Paris – Second Petale Gallery Booth 25
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