Paloma Mejía and the art of turning sculptures into jewelry

At only 32 years old, Paloma Mejía is the first sculptor to create a jewelry project made with national artists, UNObarraUNO, which blurred the lines between jewelry and art. This Buenos Aires native, whose creations are exhibited at the Gallery Kodl in Prague and in countries such as the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, Germany and the state of California, is a great exponent of Argentine contemporary art.

During his childhood he liked nothing more than accompanying his father to the countryside. and assist you in your tasks as a rural veterinarian. Fanaticism that extended to the laboratory he had in Lincoln, a city located west of the province of Buenos Aires, where he was born. There, among jars full of diseased organs and bovine fetuses in formalin, I helped him separate samples of blood, semen or feces in glass, all without being impressed.

That universe of the raw, organic and natural marked her in such a way that years later it became the lead motive of all his work. Themes such as life and death, the feminine universe and the magic of creation are thus translated into his sculptures of pregnant women without heads or in their wax flowers that look like vulvas or nipples, not only because of how they are worked, but because the raw material used acquires a color between sealing wax and scarlet that resembles human tissue.

She inherited her aesthetic side from her photographer mother, who supported her in her decision to become plastic artist and sculptor. She began modeling plasticine with her hands, without having a drawing in mind or a prior sketch. And little by little she realized that the shapes came out on their own.

Driven by this creativity, Once he finished high school, he moved to Buenos Aires to study visual arts at the IUNA. career that he did not finish because he decided to “travel a more multidisciplinary path for his work.”

On that journey, he turned to cultural management activities: coordinated the commission MALBA Young, she collaborated with the art department of the “Where I Want to Be” Foundation and was an advisor to cultural agents and developers” in the Arts District of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires. In 2021 she graduated in Curation and Art Management at the Higher School of Economics and Business Administration.

On the other hand, within his work production he was interested in expanding his spectrum of techniques and developing manual skills. Between 2013 and 2016 she traveled to France to train in sculpture and particularly in jewelry, a universe that always fascinated her, as well as fashion. “I started making jewelry for myself and then I realized that I could integrate it into my work as a visual artist. I like accessories so much that in 2021 I wrote my thesis ‘Jewelry as a work of art: a rebellious format. Argentine visual artists who made jewelry between 1950 and 2000’, where I did a complete investigation of artists who, in parallel to their paintings and sculptures, made jewelry. Such is the case of Picasso,” says Mejía, who also designs his own.

“Since in the visual arts, jewelry is considered a minor art, I chose to equal my sculpture with my jewelry in importance and hierarchy. In fact to my earrings, charms, bracelets, rings and necklaces I always made them numbered, just like my sculptures. They are small sculptures to use, very similar to the larger ones, all made of gold and silver“, explains who completed his training studying jewelry at the Buenos Aires Jewelry School and gemology with Carlos Leporace.

In 2015, Paloma received no less than the 3rd prize of the Itaú Visual Arts Prize., and his sculptures make up the permanent collection in the National Hall of Visual Arts of Junín and the Sívori Museum. Currently, Mejía lives half of the year in Paris and the other in Buenos Aires, where she works with the OdA art gallery (who represents her) and participates in exhibitions, art conversations and even creates new ventures, such as UNObarraUNO.

-What is this bet about?

-This project born -and unpublished- in Argentina is dedicated to inviting contemporary artists to make miniatures of their works in jewelry format, always seeking to reflect the aesthetics and image of each of them, and with the idea that they can be carried on the bodies of their collectors. It is a way to democratize art and give it a use. The jewel designed as an artistic object It breaks with that of the traditional object placed in the museum so that it can only be seen and cause aesthetic pleasure. Here the work integrates with the person who wears it and takes on another dimension.

Given the The idea of ​​the bet is to collaborate with one artist per yearin this first edition, Mejía summoned the Santa Fe visual artist César Núñez, who developed a collection of jewelry in 925 silver and bronze that is inspired by “The persistence of memory on the backbone of the night,” a series of sculptures in which Núñez reflects on the dark matter that lives in space.

“They are all unique pieces that are signed by the artist. Because they have an abstract and very timeless aesthetic, they are perfect to use at all times and can be worn by anyone, regardless of gender. Something that does not happen with mine, since being linked to the feminine universe they are much more explicit. There are people who don’t want to wear a vulva-shaped flower brooch or a ring with a pregnant woman,” she says.

-How did UNObarraUNO come about?

-César was my mentor in a program called “The Oracle”. Visiting his house in Santa Fe, I saw one of his giant works on the wall and I imagined it as a gold brooch to show off over a blazer. This is how this project was born. It was conceived in January 2024 and launched in March. We made 22 designs, many of which were sold on the opening day, attended by gallerists, collectors and colleagues from the art world. Everyone thought it was a great idea, so much so that many said “how did it not occur to me?” The concept of being able to touch and have the work of an artist so close to you is very beautiful.