In the jewelry saturated area of St. Petersburg, the creative duo of Vitalii Verevkin and Olga Shabanova has long found place. They have been in the jewelry business for a few decades and during that time they have found their circle of connoisseurs and admirers and favorite themes and subjects have emerged in their work with characteristic artistic techniques where priorities in the choice of materials and technologies have been outlined. In recent years, this tandem has been joined by their son – Mikael, who continues and develops the ideas and discoveries of the elder generation.
The main theme of the works of these artists is the natural world in all its manifestations. With this passion for the beauty of the universe, for everything that grows, flies and swims, Vitalii, Olga and Mikael remind me of the brilliant work of Rene Lalique and wider – the era of Art Nouveau ornaments. But we are talking about a copy or imitation of the great masters of that time: actually we are talking about the general approach to conceptual work solving, the ability to organically combine stone and metal and create the image of their jewelry in this harmony.
Galina Gabriel,
Ph.D. in History of Arts, member of the Russia Artists Union, member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA)
Stone is of great importance in their work and it is not always just a gem. The inclusion of carved gemstones in the composition, often unique in their beauty and color saturation is the hallmark of the craftsmen. Most often, this stone becomes a semantic center, the dominant ornament, endowed in the metaphorical plan. An amazing Chukchi agate can embody the beauty of the winter landscape or a feeling of twilight fluctuation, precious opals can be associated to a deep blue summer sky or become a metaphor of shimmering sunlight on a forest lake, a carved topaz gives the hardness of a crustacean shell, and the gentle light of citrine could be a taraxacum… There is usually a composition of placers with faceted demantoid, diamonds, sapphires around the carved stone, making a harmonious and sonorous ensemble together with the central stone …. Focusing their attention to the stone, the craftsmen do not forget about the metal, which is never a passive backdrop for the stone. They prefer to work with gold, which is a malleable material for the craftsmen, enabling them to create a whimsical and elegant accompaniment for the stone organically connecting them in an expressive balance. Hot enamel is often added to the metal, which not only allows to diversify the color palette, but also to create a specific image, such as a bumblebee, a dragonfly, which the craftsmen are so fond of portraying and they excel at it. Insects are fragile, mobile, made in motion, creating an illusion «beyond reality» …. And each time, I consider the jewelry work of these artists I feel pleasure upon seeing this fascinating picture of the universe, so lovingly and enthusiastically embodied in the stone and metal ….
Pictures of the exclusive and original ornaments in this website have been created using jewelry techniques with elements of stone-cutting plastics. Precious metals (gold and silver) coexist with precious, semi-precious and precious stones within them.
