Nenad Roban’s jewelry galaxy

Last week I went to Nenad Roban’s exhibition entitled ‘Strange Site’ at the Museum of Arts and Crafts…

His style is too hard to describe with an ordinary vocabulary. What this exhibition proved me is that he’s constantly searching for new materials and their new characteristics, in order to find new ways of expression or new ways of seeing thingz.

Nenad Roban, photo by lomodeedee (cc)

Never-ending playfulness is the word that occurred to my mind, while I was wandering among exhibited artworkz.

Nenad Roban: Strange Site, photo by Bilic_Muller Studio (c)

Roban’s metal structures never give impression of coldness even when they are mainly built only from ‘chilling’ materials and strictly geometrically shaped. Although his jewelry is perfectly accomplished, it vivifies the process of creation, amalgamating his artistic vision with subtle hands of experienced craftsman.

Nenad Roban, photo by Srecko Budek (c)

When using materials out of his usual set of metals or Plexiglas, Roban design jewelry from recycled materials; and these courses in designing and creating new objects simply close a cycle of material comprehension.

Nenad Roban, photo by Srecko Budek (c)

Creating highly aesthetic objects with low-level materials has brought the artist (and objects, sure) to a new level of significance, where most objects can become artworkz, but we have to be able to recognize their ability for transformation. Rare are people, which could possibly plunge fully into an art object from all aspects, and one of them, is certainly Nenad Roban.

Nenad Roban, photo by Srecko Budek (c)

His jewelry functions as sculpture and wearable piece, not losing anything of spontaneity this artisan has brought into it during the process of working.

Nenad Roban was a student at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium (graduated from the jewellery class) from 1973-1977. Between 1989 and 1990 he attended postgraduate classes at the Higher Institute of Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp.

As a student, Roban was awarded for jewellery design in Antwerp (1976); he won too, the Inno Bourla Prize and the Ringer & Diamond Co. Prize (1977). At the beginning of the 90s, he started his own jewellery studio. Since 1999 he has been running the Krizic Roban Gallery in partnership with his wife Sandra Krizic; well known editor, art critic and curator.

Nenad Roban, photo by Srecko Budek (c)

A book about his work, ‘Nenad Roban – Nakit = Jewelry’ has been published in 2005 with written contributions by curators Sandra Krizic Roban and Maroje Mrduljas.