Chinese jewellery designer Dickson Yewn combines contemporary chic with rich historical references – and is a favourite of Michelle Obama. Karys Webber meets him

“It’s akin to asking if one likes a pretty girl with no soul”, says Hong Kong-based jewellery designer, Dickson Yewn, in response to my asking about the importance of symbolism in his designs. “It wouldn’t be a piece of Chinese jewellery if it doesn’t represent something auspicious, important designs need to have a story and I have plenty of untold stories.” Jewellery that is designed simply to be pretty to look at, this is evidently not. And it’s really rather refreshing. Each of Yewn’s unique and exquisitely designed pieces aim to tell a story, his collections are lessons in Chinese history and culture, told via the medium of jewellery.

Born and bred in Hong Kong, Yewn started drawing when he was just nine; “since then I haven’t stopped learning about art nor seeking beautiful things,” he claims. His fascination with all things oriental also took a hold of him in his early years. “I was top of my class in Chinese history and literature,” says Yewn, “What’s more, I was in a Catholic school where only two subjects were taught in Chinese, the rest were in English, so Chinese became something of a rare gem to me.”

Despite this, Yewn went on to study elsewhere, in Vancouver first, then Ottawa, and ended up in Paris at the Sorbonne studying French literature and civilisation. Once his studies were completed, Yewn first channelled his creativity into the world of film and advertising; “I’ve always had a burning desire to express myself in some sort of medium, as a teen, film was my first love.” But after four years, it was his self-confessed “poor verbal communication” that prompted a change in direction. “Film and advertising demanded a lot of communication, so I withdrew to something more personal, some form of expression that didn’t require me to work with others. I picked jewellery design and fine arts.” With that, Yewn went off to study again, this time in New York, at the Fashion Institute of Technology where he completed two courses to master the art of jewellery design. By 2000, Yewn’s conceptual jewellery store, Life of Circle, had opened in Hong Kong’s trendy Tsim Sha Tsui district and swiftly acquired a dedicated and elite clientele.

Yewn gained the ultimate seal of approval from the first lady herself, Michelle Obama

Since then, Yewn has gone on to receive impressive worldwide acclaim – Life of Circle was named one of the top 25 stores in the world by Forbes magazine in 2005 (alongside fashion forces, Hermés, Manolo Blahnik and Ralph Lauren) and a collaboration with Sotheby’s in 2008 saw Yewn’s jadeite, diamond and melo pearl (extremely rare due to its vibrant, apricot orange hue) collection sell for a whopping HKD$5.32 million at auction.

More recently, Yewn gained the ultimate seal of approval from the First Lady herself, Michelle Obama, when she wore his Jadeite Diamond Wish Fulfilling Lattice Ring to a high profile dinner at Buckingham Palace in honour of the British Royal Family. “I didn’t know about it until a month after the event” Yewn declares, “a Danish jeweller congratulated me at a trade show and showed me a gossip magazine of her wearing it. I found out later that she bought it at Bergdorf Goodman in New York.” Despite not being one for celebrity endorsements, Yewn admits that he was thrilled; “to have Michelle Obama wear my creation at such a major event is definitely an important milestone and an influential one, given that she is probably the most powerful woman any woman could aspire to be.”

Still drawing inspiration from the rich culture of the Orient, Yewn’s recent Imperial Cage collection portrays the ancient craftsmanship of bird cage making and China’s long-standing tradition of breeding birds for display, a symbol of wealth, social status and power. Yewn’s homage to this ritual incorporates black and white diamonds to depict a birdcage and traditional Chinese flowers, chrysanthemum and plum blossom. The equally stunning Fragrance Locket collection tells the story of the fragrance pouch, stuffed with aromatic herbs and worn around the neck in ancient China, thought to ward off evil and bring good fortune.

yewn.com

Indonesian art is hot at the moment as collectors worldwide discover its variety, spirituality and depth. Arianne Levene, a leading global curator of Asian art, presents her four favourite Indonesian artists.

Agus Suwage

Agus Suwage

Agus Suwage is one of Indonesia’s most influential artists. I first came across his work in 2008 at the Shanghai Art Fair where he presented an impressive installation of 50 watercolour depictions of major 20th century artists. This particular work, portraits of our most controversial and challenging conceptual and performance artists, excited me not just for the artist’s exceptional drawing skills, but for his almost encyclopedic knowledge of and interest in art history. The work is a homage to those who have most informed Suwage’s practice (Marcel Duchamp, Nan Goldin, Sarah Lucas); its quotations of iconic and transgressive poses create a tissue of visual rhythms, presenting the body as a site of influence.

Eko Nugroho

Eko Nugroho

Eko Nugroho is a key figure in the contemporary Indonesian art scene. His unique visceral visual language, which borrows from comic books, a combination of traditional Indonesian folk art, western painting and urban art, allows him to communicate serious political messages to both his contemporaries and to the younger generation. The hybrid characters in his art populate a mysterious universe, one which is disconnected to the rapidly changing nature of the world, dominated by social and political injustices around us. Nogroho’s multidisciplinary approach, which includes murals, paintings, sculptures, drawings and embroidery, add to his universal appeal whilst highlighting his creative talent.

Ariadhitya Pramuhendra

Ariadhitya Pramuhendra

Ariadhitya Pramuhendra is rapidly making a name for himself as an artist to watch in Indonesia. His large-scale black and white charcoal portraits capture the viewer with their striking beauty and powerful spiritual undertone. As a Catholic in a predominantly Muslim country, Pramuhendra is continuously driven to question his own identity. I am particularly fascinated by his daring decision to revisit figurative painting, reviving the tradition of western selfportraiture as well as Christian iconography by repeatedly depicting himself in a position of authority. His most recent works search for the truth and divine in man by raising thought provoking questions regarding the legitimacy of universally accepted organisations, such as established ‘state’ religions and medical institutions.

Nyoman Masriadi

I Nyoman Masriadi

Arguably the most well-known of the contemporary artists working in Indonesia today, Nymon Masriardi’s razor sharp observations of Indonesia’s male dominated society and, more precisely, its art world, are both highly entertaining and superbly executed. Superhero’s, boxers, footballers, athletes and men at work are characters that appear again and again in the artist’s theatre of the absurd and serve as both his alter ego and his contemporaries. Whilst his style has evolved tremendously in the last ten years from a more cubist inspired caricatural figuration to a comical realism, there remains a definite artistic stamp thanks to his signature black skinned figures.

Arianne Levene, Founder of New Art World. newartworld.co.uk

Six of the best Anyone with a few million to burn can buy a Richter, but who are the hottest living artists that everyone doesn’t know about? Our columnist, a consultant to some of the world’s most prominent collectors, gives the lowdown on her hot half dozen LISA SCHIFF

Tal R

Tal R is an Israeli-born, Danish artist who is often mistaken as German. His presence in Berlin and Düsseldorf seems to have overshadowed his actual roots in Copenhagen. I think this is important because much of what makes up Tal R’s paintings, drawings, or sculptures comes out of his personal experience in Denmark. One visit to the Tivoli Gardens and all of his figures come alive. While less known in North America, Tal has a line-up of European museum shows through 2017. He will be having his first New York show at Cheim & Read this November which should not be missed.

Tal R: Night Awning, 2012

Sterling Ruby

Sterling Ruby

Sterling Ruby is not unknown; maybe he even has too much attention. Nonetheless, I think it’s worth mentioning because I think he still has a way to go. Sterling has been making interesting work in LA for at least a decade now, if not more, and it keeps on coming. Sometimes an artist can attract a certain market hype early on that can actually damage his or her career. This has been the case with Sterling, but he seems to be impervious to it. Sterling shows with Xavier Hufkens in Belgium and with Sprüth Magers in Berlin and London. He is currently considering several galleries for representation in the US.

Sterling Ruby’s Installation at Sprüth Magers Berlin

Charline Von Heyl

Charline Von Heyl

Charline has been making great paintings for decades. Unfortunately, the first thing most people say about Charline is that she is Christopher Wool’s wife. At long last, those days are finally fading. One of the many difficulties in being a painter is to contribute something new to the history of the medium. It’s not easy to emerge with an original visual vocabulary, but Charline has done it and done it brilliantly. For the past few years, she has had back-to-back museum shows in both the US and Europe, and they are knockout shows. Sometimes it takes time to catch up with an artist’s vision. I have been looking at Charline’s work for years and finally, with her last show at the ICA Boston, I had my “aha” moment; I am catching up with her vision. The best news, the paintings are incredibly undervalued. At least for now, but I doubt for long. See Petzel Gallery in New York to learn more about her work.

Charline Von Heyl: Spanish Fly, 2007

Roe Ethridge

Roe Ethridge. Self-portrait (Polaroid)

Roe, I think, will emerge as the William Eggleston of this generation. Lately photography has taken a back seat to painting and sculpture, as the heyday of the big, glossy works of artists like Gursky and Struth seems to fade into the distance. Roe’s particular style never made it to the heights of fashion as did the former, and that appears to be a good thing as all the while he has been making consistently good work with consistently positive critical response. His prices have been kept fairly low over the years while the quality in production has remained high. I have been buying and selling his work for 10 years now and cannot wait to see where he is at in another 10 years. I am guessing he will go down in photo history as epic and I suspect he is now recession proof. Andrew Kreps Gallery in New York is where I bought my first photo in 2002 and it’s where I just bought the most recent.

Roe Ethridge: Louise with red bag, 2011

Alex Israel

Alex Israel

Alex Israel: Sky Backdrop, 2012

Throughout the history of southern Californian art, certain major father figures have emerged – Baldessari, Ruscha, Opie, Zittel, Kelley, McCarthy, Pittman amongst others. It seems that young Alex has a good chance of sliding into one of these spots. His work is informed entirely by popular culture but particularly that of SoCal today and largely by Hollywood film culture. He makes art different than any other artist working today – i.e. faux talk show videos, sunglasses, paintings fabricated on the Warner Brothers’ lot, rented film props, etc. Alex’s work is already becoming difficult to access. Javier Peres in Berlin is the best way to find him.

Tavares Strachen

Probably the best secret tip I could impart would be regarding Tavares. Born and raised in the Bahamas, he made his way via scholarship to RISD for his BFA and Yale for his MFA. Now based in NY, he makes art that is informed by science and that largely engages timely questions about man vs. nature and man’s place in the world. Unlike other black artists, Tavares is not focused on blackness as a subject; rather he is interested in the way travel, the Internet, and globalization have contributed to general displacement for any race. He reminds us of Gauguin’s famous work: Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? Although he does not have representation just yet, it’s almost impossible to obtain works by Tavares. Somehow those in the know have already made their way to his studio.

Tavares Strachan: 01 02 Already Home, 2010

Lisa Schiff is principal of Schiff Fine Art schifff ineart.com

A golden glen enroute to the Lodge

When your everyday car is a Rolls Royce Phantom and your back garden stretches over thousands of hectares, a drive between your properties in something completely different has its own sort of appeal. Dr Sin Chai, a Scottish-based entrepreneur, makes a tour of some of the most spectacular scenery in the Scottish Highlands in the Mercedes- Benz SLS AMG Roadster

A good friend and I try to do this at least twice a year: a road trip somewhere interesting in a ‘nice’ car. We both own a few of these, but this year we were presented with an interesting option: a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster, the most expensive model in their portfolio and a rival for some supercars we are rather familiar with.

The next question was, where to go. We have done most wine producing regions, and then one day it hit us: the obvious answer had been there all the time. Scotland has some of the best driving roads in the world, and it’s also where I happen to live and where my company happens to have a few hotels.

The car was delivered to The Atholl, our latest hotel and Edinburgh’s most exclusive, at 9:00 am on a weekday morning. The first thing I noticed was that it was holding up the morning human traffic on the pavement very seriously. Foot traffic in Edinburgh has been considerably disrupted by the tram works, and pavements have been diverted and traffic rechanneled. People (mostly men) were slowing down and taking a second look. Whilst leaning on the car, I made the most of it; nonchalant, sunglasses on, trying to look ordinary.

It felt rather well-placed to The Atholl: a car you could arrive in, park, and then stroll into your private whisky-tasting room (we have whiskies that nobody else does) or sample some first growths and cheese from your in-room cabinet while soaking in a hot tub on your terrace.

The SLS is powered by a 6.3 litre engine handbuilt by AMG. Most cars of this caliber give out a growl whenever the accelerator pedal is touched. The SLS noise was much more civilized, a controlled purr, indicating there is plenty of reserve. It was a different pitch, more like a jet engine, and again it was turning heads as soon as we started burbling down the streets. My friend drove first, and on the open road he put it to the test. In short bursts the acceleration was phenomenal. As soon as his foot was off the pedal, the car abruptly decelerated, obviously gearing down, ready for the next surge. The driver was completely in control, and so I felt safe as the passenger. Is this what Formula 1 driving is like? Will have to ask Jenson or Lewis.

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG roadster

I am a more sedate driver than my friend, but I felt it was my duty to do the needful, since I was going to have to write about it. At slow speeds (70mph, legal) it felt comfortable, just like a luxury marque. It really came into its own when cornering at high speed. Twisty Scottish mountain roads are very testing, and Scottish winters are not kind to tarmac: cracked surfaces remain so all summer. Even on what the government euphemistically calls “uneven surface” (read potholes), the SLS was stable, and did not bounce around. And it shot out of corners like a rocket.

Alladale Wilderness Lodge

We made it, hair tousled by the wind, to Alladale, our other new hotel. Alladale Wilderness Lodge is a 23,000 acre estate in the remotest part of Scotland, the Northwest Highlands of Sutherland. Up here, you are more likely to bump into a European bison, moose, Scottish wildcat or a wild boar than a supercar, or indeed any car. Our Land Rover Defenders are rather more suited to the terrain there, but the SLS was happy ambling up the single-track lanes on the approach.

I was sad to let go of the car after two days of bliss. The very competent top opening mechanism (with the top open, at speeds over 50mph, rain is deflected by the very clever design and you don’t get wet!), the little warning flashes in the wing mirrors whenever a car (or a Highland cow!) sneaks up in the blind spots, all these made the SLS special. The superb handling one just took for granted.

Dr Sin Chai is chairman of ICMI and is not a racing driver; icmi.co.u