Style Edit: Celebrate the legacy of jeweler Daniel Brush with ‘Thoughts of Monet’ – his first exhibition in Japan, organized by Van Cleef & Arpels’ L’École School of Jewelry Arts

Known for his gold granulation work and hand-engraved work in steel and aluminum, Daniel’s unique approach to metalworking and jewelry making is presented as a work arriving in Japan for the first time.

Held by Van Cleef & Arpels’ L’École School of Jewelery Arts, Think About Monet, the third in a series of exhibitions dedicated to Daniel’s work, opens at Tokyo’s 21-21 Design Museum and runs until April 15.

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The exhibit’s theme is a nod to the artist’s affinity for Monet’s aesthetic, as well as the late Daniel’s works that share the exhibit’s name. And perhaps there is no more perfect setting than Tokyo to explore this particular pillar of his work, heavily influenced by the French Impressionist painter.

“Monet was heavily inspired by many aspects of Japanese culture, by Hokusai and by the Japanese reverence for nature,” says Olivia.

“[Daniel] i could see in monet’s paintings the way light transforms color… a lot of [Daniel’s] work throughout the years has been particularly obsessed with light,” she adds. The relationship between light and the passage of time, from morning to evening and the changing of the seasons, strongly shaped Daniel’s perception of beauty.

Daniel’s process is reflected in this observation of light. He was able to capture beauty as light refracted by materials such as gold, aluminum and steel, as well as the media he used in his sculpted and hand-engraved works.

The arrival of the artist’s works in Japan, particularly at this exhibition organized by L’École School of Jewelry Arts, has been a long time coming. The multidisciplinary artist, whose interests are wide-ranging and diverse, has always had a unique creative connection in many different countries and cultures.

Olivia recalls how the artist’s curiosity led him to explore a wide range of subjects, including 1960s poetry, Japanese literature and theater, Tantric Buddhism, Byzantine gold and Cycladic sculpture, right through to engineering treatises from the late 1800s. He resisted simple categories, preferring to engage with viewers in all kinds of work,” she explains.

This curiosity about the world allowed Daniel to work beyond the traditional boundaries of his craft in a way that unleashed unbridled creativity. “One day he may have emotionally, mentally, and physically devoted a solid 24-hour period uninterrupted to a painting, line by line, line by line recording of his breath and heartbeat, and the next day, as a departure from the previous day’s intensity, bakelite/resin skunk carving. “Daniel’s hands were an extension of his mind, heart and breath,” says Olivia.

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Despite the inspiration drawn from Monet’s play of light, the similarities between the works of the two artists stop there. While the Impressionist painter often modeled his masterpieces after real-life scenes – in this case Giverny – Daniel’s approach leaves much of the creative process to his imagination.

“He preferred not to discuss techniques or virtuosity because he believed that when they became easy, the techniques disappeared. Therefore, at this point, one does not ask “how” something is done, but rather “why,” Olivia continues.

The exhibition “Think about Monet” reflects these pillars in Daniel’s work. It consists of three parts, beginning with five large drawings, “written … line by line, top to bottom, left to right, as a poet might write his thoughts and his voice,” Olivia reveals.

The second part shows five carved and etched steel, aluminum and gold objects and jewellery, each exemplifying Daniel’s extensive research into working with different metals to reveal their inherent and transformative power and light, says Olivia.

Finally, the exhibition concludes with a display of Daniel’s creations from his ‘Thoughts of Monet’ series.

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Jewelry lovers can expect to re-examine their own relationship with their adornments and gemstones after immersing themselves in the world of design from the perspective of the great artist.

“For Daniel, the function of the jewelry was secondary. He believed that the value, monetary or social status given to a piece of jewelry was irrelevant,” says Olivia. “[Something] small in size can have enormous scale; its value lies in its ability to stop time, engage the spirit and make one think and dream, take your mind off the everyday.