Exclusive interview with Chus Burés, contemporary jewellery designer and creative genius

I recently met with Chus Burés, contemporary jewellery designer, creative genius and Spain National Hero, during Art Basel. He was exhibiting some of his fantastic designed pieces as a collateral event of the fair.

Chus collaborated with the biggest artists including Louise Bourgeois or Pedro Almodóvar and despite all his successes, and his brilliant collaborations, he remains a humble designer. Art is Alive had the chance to ask him a few questions.

Can you please introduce yourself ? How would you describe yourself and how would you describe your art?

I am a designer of ideas, which I give life to through everyday objects. For me, creativity always comes first, and it is something that I have devoted the majority of my life to. As a designer, I try to apply my ideas into wearable, physical pieces for the human body, which is my base of expression and which I regard as a piece of architecture; I also use it to translate my thinking and to relate myself with others.

Can you give us more details about your collaboration with Pedro Almodóvar? Did you collaborate with any other artists?

My time with Pedro Almodóvar was a fun period of my life. Pedro gave me the script of ‘Matador’ for me to read and from that I proposed three designs for the hairpin, which Pedro considered the central link of the film. Later, I collaborated on another of his films, ‘Tie me, Tie me down’. With Bigas Luna, I worked on ‘La Teta y La Luna’, for which I created a kind of tiara that emitted sounds for a dancer. For Robert Wilson I made a special jewel that was a talisman for Vicente Molina Foix’s movie ‘Sagitario’.

As for contemporary artists, I have worked with many over the years. What I like about working with these artists is that the relationship it creates becomes a dialogue. Another important aspect of these collaborations is that they can take unexpected directions. For example, one of the pieces that I created for the Catalan artist Antoni Miralda was exhibited at the Spanish pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1990, which increased my experimental fan base and led to more work-lines and proposals. Now, almost all of the fruits of these collaborations are kept in the best contemporary art collections around the world.

Does living in Madrid influence your creation's process ?

When I came to Madrid around 1984, it happened to be during the period that is now known as the ‘Movida Madrileña’, which was an explosion of effervescence and creativity. We were all very young, trying to give shape to our interests. It was also a perfect atmosphere in which to breathe: architects, film directors, actors, painters, sculptors, curators, poets, writers…all mixed up, creating projects together, exchanging ideas; it was quite a fruitful time.

What other designers, fashion designers, artists, architects do you feel close to?Just to mention a few fashion designers: Helmut Lang, Hussein Chalayan, Martin Margiela, Hedi Slimane, Cinzia Ruggeri, Costume National, Issey Miyake. I also feel a special interest for the young designers who are represented at the NYC shop ‘Opening Ceremony’.

I feel very much attached to all the artists I have worked with, and with whom I maintain an excellent friendship. Others whose work I am very interested in are, to name a few, Robert Wilson, Olafur Eliason, Tobias Rehberger, Jorge Pardo, Jeff Koons, Cai-guo Giang.....

As I mentioned before, I see the human body as an architectural structure, which has given me a great respect for architects. I am very interested in contemporary architecture, in how they make us move inside their buildings; I think it is fascinating. Architects such as Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhas, Tadao Ando especially appeal to me.

Chus Burés and Louise Bourgeois

Do you consider that "art is alive"?

Of course art is alive, art is the energy that empowers life.
What are your upcoming projects ?Among other things, I am now working on new pieces with contemporary artists; continuity of my H2O project; a new jewelry collection for my own brand, and my experimental projects with international universities.

What are your upcoming projects ?
Among other things, I am now working on new pieces with contemporary artists; continuity of my H2O project; a new jewelry collection for my own brand, and my experimental projects with international universities.

Who would you dream to work for/with ?

There is an architects’ studio in Barcelona, which I heard are designing a new space hotel.... I would like to collaborate in this project.To finish with, what would wish to this blog?I would love this blog to become a reference for young creators, a documentation bank of our times and a place to browse to frequently. Congratulations! I wish you the best of success and a long life!

Chus Burés and Cinzia Ruggeri

To finish with, what would wish to this blog?
I would love this blog to become a reference for young creators, a documentation bank of our times and a place to browse to frequently. Congratulations! I wish you the best of success and a long life!

To learn more:
http://www.chusbures.com/ - http://www.fascinationproject.com/ - http://www.chusburesh2oforafrica.org/