Armband c. 1953 - 1960

This gold armband, by Gustav Beran, uses stones that are a bit like hard candies. The whole thing feels light, airy, almost like a paper cutout in gold. It's the contrast between the hard edges of the squares, the sharp points of the decorative curves and the soft, rounded forms of the stones that really grabs me. Look at how the gold work is thin and precise, and how it sits right against the smooth, almost gooey looking stones. Each square is like a tiny stage, a little world for the red gem to live in. The connecting segments between each square are plain, and they emphasize the overall modularity of the piece, and make the transitions between the ornamented squares all the more pronounced. It's like a sentence made of simple words punctuated with something more elaborate. Beran’s work reminds me of Anni Albers, who also played with the push and pull between simple and complex forms, and the hard and soft nature of materials.