Alice - Elena Protopopescu - MONNUI - Romania
Alice - Elena Protopopescu - MONNUI
Designer biography:
I am a contemporary jewelry artist working with metal, glass, and other tactile materials to explore themes of transformation, emotional depth, and quiet reflection. I create pieces that move between object and experience, shaped by an intuitive process and a strong connection to the behavior of materials. My work often plays with contrasts such as fragility and structure, or control and unpredictability. I use techniques like blown, fusing, and cold-working glass,alongside casting and hand-forming metal. These processes allow me to stay close to the materials and respond to the unexpected. I approach making as a way to connect with inner states and slow rhythms. Through my jewelry, I hope to create space for contemplation and personal connection.
Collection concept:
This collection continues Morphological Studies of Organic Mesh, exploring the lattice structures of stinkhorn mushrooms and Clathrus ruber. Hand-constructed silver meshes translate these porous natural forms into wearable structures, balancing fragility and resilience. Alongside silver pieces, new works embed the mesh within glass, shifting the material relationship from surface to interior. During firing, subtle reactions create halos and traces around the metal. Suspended in glass, the structures evoke preservation and growth held in time, forming an evolving study of organic systems.
