Architect José Luis Ibar has always felt attracted to design and painting. And for this reason, “a few years ago I started a jewelry course and decided to set up a workshop in my house in Zárate. It was during a trip to Taxco, Mexico where I discovered my passion for jewelry, which there, coincidentally, was an architect who gave it a boost”, says José Luis.
– How did you go from the initial workshop to exhibiting at the Louvre Museum in Paris, and from there to the world?
At the end of 2017, a Master of goldsmithing, painting and sculpture, through his representative in Argentina, contacted me to ask for photos of my pieces and I was selected to exhibit at the Louvre museum. In October I left for France, with several collections made up of pendants, bracelets and rings. Two months later, they told me that I had been selected by the Danish commission to present some pieces as works of art in Copenhagen.
– In what other places did you exhibit from 2018 to date?
After Paris and Copenhagen I exhibited in Milan, Venice and Rome. It was a string of invitations, one after the other, that I found it hard to believe. In October 2019 I returned to exhibit pieces at the Louvre. The experience of being with people from all over the world who are looking at your pieces is something inexplicable.
– How did these jewels arise that aroused the interest of European experts?
They arose spontaneously. From seeing some seashells in a meal and saying: ‘I’m going to do something with this’, and giving it a finish so that it stops being a common object and becomes a piece of jewelry. Those, by chance, were one of the works that attracted the most attention in Europe and here they had no repercussions. We are more traditionalists and jewelry helps my imagination fly.
– How is the creation process?
I work in the barbecue area of my house, being in contact with my family encourages me to continue with this project. I do what I feel I like, and if it’s not like that, I leave it. I feel the support of my wife and children in what I do as a jeweler. Some pieces are almost geometric, while others do not respond to anything in particular, they are simply shapes that I found attractive. Hence the name of one of my collections: Imaginatu (Imagine in Basque) where each person sees or feels differently when observing them. Each design I make is unique and unrepeatable. Jewelry clears me up and increases my creativity. On some occasions, I am watching television and at the same time my brain is thinking or imagining things. I take a piece of paper and draw a line, from there a new jewel emerges. I may be looking at something concrete, like a vehicle headlight, and that serves as a point of inspiration for me. Right now I am very enthusiastic using a new technique in my new collection that I named: Hariak (Threads in Basque). I don’t like to stay stuck in something, but to innovate
– Do you also make jewelry to order?
Yes, and I do them with the support of the client. Depending on the level of complexity, it takes me anywhere from four to twenty days to complete. They are delivered with a certificate of authenticity, where the name of the piece appears, with the materials it is made of, my seal and signature.
www.joseluisibar.com.ar
Phone: +54 9 348753 1836
Email: [email protected]
@ibarjoseluis
by CEDOC