Spot the Designer - Juan Carlos González López/ Spain
What did you want to be when you were a child?
I was always passionate about crafts and objects. I enjoyed, played, experimented with materials, colors, shapes, a whole universe that awoke a restlessness and passion for design. Since then I knew that I would always be related to the world of art and design.
When have you started creating jewelry? How did this passion come about?
I started creating jewelry as a result of teaching a module of CNC for jewelry within my career in teaching (Professor of Industrial Design Engineering) 10 years ago. It is from that moment where my passion for jewelry blossomed. I discovered through it, an artistic discipline where cultural, design, emotional, technological and artisanal values were fused in a single piece that could also be portable.
What was your first project or significant piece for you and from what point of view?
They are the series of Kimlik pendants. It was one of my first works that I had to do when I studied Artistic Jewelry in EASD Valencia. In these pieces I wanted to innovate with my engineering knowledge especially in machining with aluminum, bronze and recycled resins. I wanted to turn purely industrial pieces into suggestive pieces of jewelry, innovating in form and enameling techniques.
How do you charge your batteries? What other passions and creative interests do you have?
In the company of my family and friends. Discovering new cultures through travel. I love being able to design and create sculptures with metals, using various joining and machining techniques. Another of my passions is to explore any artistic, cultural manifestation that I find on my way or I look for it.
What does the connection between manufacturing tradition and contemporary design mean to you?
It seems to me a perfect symbiosis to create a contemporary craftsmanship. Where the tradition of craftsmanship is respected - the sensitivity of the human touch - with industrial precision, they create pieces with a contemporary elegance: exclusivity and excellence.
Is there a self-portrait piece that speaks most about you?
This brooch marked and defined my personality and the style of my future pieces. The search for proportion/composition of geometric organization, the exploration of natural materials with industrial, industrial aesthetics with rational language is reflected in this piece, which was the basis for the development of my own language to express my emotions and artistic concerns.
Which material have you not yet used is a temptation and a challenge for you?
I am now interested in recycling materials from industrial sample books that have no use and giving them a new life through jewelry and experimenting with marble and similar materials.
How was the pandemic period for you as a jewelry designer?
A period of reflection on the process of creation. I have been able to discover how far creativity is capable when the necessary materials to design and create are not within your reach. In addition to enjoying the evils experienced, the connection and communication with other artists through other means of communication has been very enriching.
How do you see the future of contemporary jewelry?
New avenues of communication are being explored through contemporary jewelry, appearing a strong connection between object/space/body components where the pieces are genderless and take on other non-tangible functions.
Find more about the designer Juan Carlos González López