Two clues: the light and space art movement of the 1960s and 1970s. And Kanye West.
Still stumped? To figure it out, you’d have to be culture-savvy enough to be familiar with one of the movement’s most celebrated artists and likewise aware of the fact that West is a huge fan.
Which brings us to artist James Turrell, whose body of work has influenced Brooklyn, N.Y.–based fine jewelry designer Caitlin Mociun to create a collection of 15 one-of-a kind diamond, sapphire, and spinel rings.
Titled Colorblock, the collection of rings subtly reference Turrell’s famous large-scale installations and the way he uses light to create unique, meditative spaces, shapes, and color stories.
“My work is not so much about my seeing as about your seeing. There is no one between you and your experience…. What is important to me is to create an experience of wordless thought,” Turrell told Architectural Digest in 2018.
As for Mociun, her goal was to explore the effects of light on space and shape through her preferred medium: gemstones. (Much of the material was acquired during this year’s Tucson Gem Show.)
The result: bold, geometric cadillac, archway, and hexagonal cuts and impeccably rectilinear step cuts in colorways that seem analogous to the artist’s penchant for neon blues, greens, and pinks, plus peach and variegated golds—essentially, the colors of the sky at any given moment.
“We hope you get lost in space, time, and light when you look at them, even if just for a minute,” says Mociun.
Some standouts from Colorblock are below, all framed in clean bezel settings, starting with a glorious blue sapphire, masterfully cut by Top Notch Faceting.
Top, clockwise from left: Gathered Sky ring with Sri Lankan blue sapphire cabochon and two round burnt-orange Umba sapphire cabochons, $3,500; Amrta ring (highlighted above); and Amba ring with step-cut Umba sapphires, $8,200; all in 18k gold
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