Van Cleef & Arpels offers support to French Art Festival

This time round, not only are they supporting art, but supporting renowned French contemporary art, having co-sponsored the French Art Festival in Dubai from 2-5 March at Mina A'Salam and also co-sponsoring the Abu Dhabi exhibition which is taking place from 12-15 March at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. This newly launched initiative was created specifically to promote highly sought after French contemporary art within the UAE and to create links with fast developing countries, sustaining global cultural growth.

The parallelism between the two worlds of Dance and Jewellery was flawlessly highlighted by Van Cleef & Arpels at their 'dance' themed booth, where the movements of dance and the technique of jewelers both offered beauty and emotion. The exceptional jewellery pieces displayed at the event were specially brought over from the Van Cleef & Arpels Museum in Paris, where their private collection is housed, consisting of 400 jewellery items, time pieces and fashion accessories that date back to 1906.

Beyond their enjoyment of the shows and their profound admiration for performance, the founders of Van Cleef & Arpels, Louis and Claude Arpels recognize in the art of dance values that they hold clear, those upon which the House was founded: natural sophistication, elegance that is both genuine and utterly effortless.

"True art is that which does not appear to be art. One must make every attempt to conceal it" wrote the Italian Balthazar Castiglione in the 16th century, developing the concept of Sprezzatura.

Sprezzatura implies ease, elegance, a touch of nonchalance and nobility, a certain suspicion of oneself, a hint of something both lofty and masterful; a notion that is always endorsed by Van Cleef & Arpels, who believe the jewellers' art consists in never making the mastery of techniques and materials apparent.

In 1940, Van Cleef & Arpels created its first collection of jewellery, composed essentially of brooches, inspired by dance. In 2007, pursuing its "pas de deux" with dance, Van Cleef & Arpels created its High-Jewellery collection "Ballet Précieux", paying homage to the Ballet created in 1967 by George Balanchine, "Jewels". Pieces of fine jewellery, inspired by the lightness and grace of ballerinas and the precision that their art requires, were specifically designed around emeralds, rubies and diamonds.

It is in that spirit that the famous Jewellery House, loyal to its implication in the world of Art and Culture, decided to support the French Art Festival. Stephane de Palmas, Middle East Director of Van Cleef & Arpels said,

"It is always an honour for us to offer our support to art activities, especially within the UAE which is so quickly becoming a cultural center. We always anticipate an occasion to share our values, passion for beauty and showcase our creations inspired by Art, and more particularly by Dance."