Slideshow « When West Meets East

The Rui Cunha Foundation presents tomorrow, Tuesday, January 9th at 6:30pm, the Jewellery Exhibition “When West Meets East” by Cristina Vinhas, that will feature works inspired in the Wood Element, formed from textures and organic shapes such as logs and pieces of driftwood, here reused and fused with noble metals that gain new creative meaning.

The solo exhibition displays a collection of 12 pieces of wood and silver jewelryto be acknowledged and appreciated at the FRC Gallery. The set includes necklaces, bracelets, brooches and other decorative objects, whose shapes refer freely to images of nature, such as mountains, rivers, waterfalls, estuaries, cliffs, and other oriental references, which have been a source of inspiration for the artist’s work over the last decade and a half.

According to Cristina Vinhas, «When West Meets East reflects the strong influence of Chinese culture on my work. The representation of the landscape, of the elements of nature, continues to be my great source of inspiration, and where I go to charge and revitalize energy. The influence of nature, the masculine energy emanated by it, which attracts and transforms. Or the wonder represented through the use of wood and silver and the way I interpret this nature, when combined with the feminine energy coming from the Chinese string instrument, Erhu, by musician Lio Un, is what I propose to visit».

The opening ceremony thus promises surprises, with traditional music enveloping guests and visitors in the experience, and accompanying the natural movement in the featured pieces’ organic shapes, depicted from her recent «trip to the beautiful mountains of Lushan, Jiujiang Province, last October».

Cristina Vinhas is a professional jeweller born in Vila do Conde, Portugal. She began her career in 2003, after completing her course at CINDOR – Centre for Professional Training of Goldsmithing and Watch-making Industry. In 2007 she moved to Macau and became an instructor and coordinator of the jewellery workshops at Casa de Portugal in Macau, who has supported the artist in providing the studio to create her works of art. Meanwhile, she continues to design and create her own collections for the Portuguese jewellery industry. In addition to numerous individual and collective exhibitions, the artist regularly participates in fairs and festivities for local communities, where she takes the opportunity to contact the public. Since 2010, her works have also been for sale at the Macau Museum of Art gift store.