Ron Arad began experimenting with jewellery making in 2003 when he first conceived his Hot Ingo earrings in collaboration with Louisa Guinness Gallery. Combining the material innovation of 3D printing with sintered polyamide he fliped the use of a technology traditionally used by engineers, designers and silversmiths to create prototypes and earrings.
The resulting 'Hot Ingo' earrings represent his first foray into the world of jewellery. Mimicking natural lines, each sintered polyamide ball wraps neatly around its metal pole originally made in ‘03 from 18k gold with a white polyamide ball and platinum with black polyamide ball. Arad has also produced later editions in 18k rose gold with a black polyamide ball, in blackened silver with a white polyamide ball and silver with a red polyamide ball.
Hot Ingo Earrings, 2016, Photographed by Alexander English.
Over a decade later, Arad presented three separate jewellery projects in his 2016 exhibition Ron Arad Rocks! at Louisa Guinness Gallery, namely his series of hand made silicone works entitled Rocks.
This series of earrings, bracelets and necklaces were made from solid silicon rather than the precious stones the title suggested. Through his choice of material he challenges the viewer's sensory perception. Though the silicon is soft and pliable to the touch, each piece appears heavy and dangerously jagged creating an effect of bare shards of glass hanging close to the wearer's skin.
Arad is celebrated for his innovative reconceptualisation of everyday objects and structures in his iconically fluid and curvaceous style. This is exemplified in his series of magnifying glass pendants Naja that take their name and inspiration from the naja cobra.
Arad’s Standing Naja, created in 2015 was the first realisation of his Naja series with Louisa Guinness Gallery. Each magnifying pendant was made of concentric circles, coiled by hand around a piece of quartz or amethyst. With a standing height of 16 cm and an ability to retract into a flat coiled state, it imitates the natural movement of the naja cobra which raises the front of its body off the ground, appearing larger to potential predators.