MARION FRIEDMANN GALLERY IS THRILLED TO PRESENT EGYPT, THE JEWELLERY COLLECTION BY MEXICAN STONE SCULPTOR AND ARITIST JULIO MARTÍNEZ BARNETCHE.

FIRST-GRADE LAPIS LAZULI FROM AFGHANISTAN, EBONY WOOD AND GOLD LEAF ARE THE CORE OF JULIO’S BOLD EGYPT COLLECTION, WHICH CONSISTS OF 18 UNIQUE PIECES. THE ARTIST COMBINES THESE THREE MATERIALS AND UNITES THEM MASTERFULLY.

WITHOUT INTENTION, THIS COLLECTION HONOURS AND RESUMES THE SACREDNESS OF EGYPTIAN ART. LAPIS LAZULI, EBONY WOOD AND GOLD LEAF HAVE BEEN PRESENT SINCE ANCIENT TIMES IN EGYPTIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN CULTURES. MAGNIFICENT ART PIECES HAVE BEEN MANUFACTURED IN THESE THREE MATERIALS FOR MORE THAN FIVE THOUSAND YEARS. THE SIMULTANEOUS USE OF THEM IS TRADITIONALLY EGYPTIAN.

THIS COLLECTION IS ELABORATE: HIGHLY SKILLED WAX MODELLING AND DIRECT CARVING OF ORGANIC SHAPES IN EBONY WOOD AND SUPREME QUALITY 1ST-GRADE LAPIS LAZULI FROM AFGHANISTAN COMBINED WITH HAND-MADE SILVER CHAINS AND GOLD LEAF APPLICATIONS. THE COLLECTION IS A COMBINATION OF DEMANDING AND ANCIENT TECHNIQUES, WHICH MAKES THESE SCULPTURAL JEWELLERY PIECES PARTICULARLY EXQUISITE.

The work of Julio Martínez Barnetche is of high technical mastery combined with the creative fluidity that has the capacity to reveal the aesthetics hidden in the crystalline structures of the stones or the inner life of wood specimens. Martínez Barnetche, who is an established pioneer of the direct carving technique, continues to stretch the limits within his three-dimensional work to new heights.

JULIO MARTÍNEZ BARNETCHE

Julio is a Mexican stone sculptor and artist working with precious and semiprecious stones. His oeuvre entails not only sculpture, but also furniture in special wood, stone and metal combinations, jewellery, as well as tableware and cooking devices in volcanic stone. Martínez Barnetche moves easily between pure sculpture, furniture and objects. He often takes his materials as he encounters them naturally. In some pieces handcrafted forgery is applied, this is where the artist explores the target, the piece's final destination.