Louisa Guinness Gallery
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Jewellery
  • Shop
  • Artists
  • Vintage
  • About
  • The Gallery
  • Publications
  • Exhibitions
  • Press
  • Video
Cart
0 items £
Checkout

Item added to cart

View cart & checkout
Continue shopping
Menu
Medusa Bijoux et Tabous
Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, 19 May - 26 October 2017

Medusa Bijoux et Tabous: Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris

Past exhibition
  • Overview
  • Works
Man Ray Optic Topic Mask, conceived in 1974, executed 1978 Gold plated sterling silver & brown suede cord with original wood frame marked 'Optic Topic'. mask: 13 x 8 x 6 cm frame: 37 x 28 x 7.5 cm edition of 100 executed by GEM - Montebello Signed with certificate of authenticity.
Man Ray
Optic Topic Mask, conceived in 1974, executed 1978
Gold plated sterling silver & brown suede cord with original wood frame marked 'Optic Topic'.
mask: 13 x 8 x 6 cm
frame: 37 x 28 x 7.5 cm
edition of 100 executed by GEM - Montebello
Signed with certificate of authenticity.
View works

 

The MEDUSA exhibition takes a modern look at objects that are a cross between adornment and sculpture and which fascinate artists as much as the public.

 

Louisa Guinness Gallery has loaned a number of works to the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris including the Man Ray Optic Topic mask & Niki de Saint Phalle Assemblage necklace. 

 

About the Exhibition

 

Jewellery elicits undeniable reactions of “attraction/repulsion”, depending on who designs it, wears it, or looks at it, much like the terrifying face of the mythical Medusa. Though jewellery is one of the most ancient forms of human expression, it is rarely considered art, often still perceived as too feminine, precious, decorative and of the body, or even primitive. But contemporary artists and creators have taken jewellery far beyond its own traditions, and by reinventing it, have transformed our gaze. The museum presents almost 300 pieces organised thematically: those made by artists (Meret Oppenheim, Man Ray, Calder, Dali, Picasso, Fabrice Gygi, Thomas Hirschhorn, and Danny McDonald), designers (René Lalique, Anni Albers, Line Vautrin, Tony Duquette, Bless), contemporary jewellers (Gijs Bakker, Karl Fristch, Sophie Hanagarth, etc.), fine jewellers, as well as anonymous or more ancient pieces (antique, Native American, or even punk, rap, SM, etc.). The MEDUSA exhibition brings together pieces that are one of a kind with others that exist in multiple copies, and are made by hand, industrially, or even by computer, thus allowing visitors to compare and contrast refined, artisanal, and futuristic aesthetics.

 

For further details or to visit the exhibition click here. 

 

Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris

11 Avenue du Président Wilson

75116 Paris

 

Phone : + 33 (0)1 53 67 40 00


Opening hours :


Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm (Last entrance at 5.15 pm).
Closed on Mondays and public holidays.
Extended opening hours on Thursday until 10pm: only for temporary exhibitions.

  • Visit Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris

Related artists

  • Niki de Saint Phalle

    Niki de Saint Phalle

  • Man Ray

    Man Ray

Share
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Email
Back to exhibitions

Join our mailing list

Signup

* denotes required fields

We will process the personal data you have supplied to communicate with you in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.

Louisa Guinness Gallery

104 Kensington Church Street

London, W8 4BU

 

Monday  |  closed

Tuesday - Friday  |  10am - 6pm

Saturday  |  by appointment

Sunday  |  closed

 

E: info@louisaguinnessgallery.com

T: +44 (0) 207 494 4664

Shipping, Insurance & Exchange Policy

Size Guide & Repairs

Facebook, opens in a new tab.
Instagram, opens in a new tab.
Artsy, opens in a new tab.
Join the mailing list
Privacy Policy
Manage cookies
Copyright © 2025 Louisa Guinness Gallery
Site by Artlogic

This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. Please contact us to find out more about our Cookie Policy.

Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences
Close

Join our mailing list

Don't miss your chance to discover our exclusive content, current exhibitions and upcoming events. Join our mailing list today!

Signup

* denotes required fields

We will process the personal data you have supplied to communicate with you in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.