K. Brunini’s ‘Brutalism’ Fine Jewelry Embodies Armorial Elegance And Repurposed Materials

The goldsmith and designer Katey Brunini’s “Brutalism” collection is an extraordinarily artistic range born during the COVID pandemic which took two and a half years to create. While Southern Californian-based K.Brunini Jewels has long been known for its poetic approach to high jewelry and fine jewelry, Brunini’s “Brutalism” designs are alive with an array of colored gemstones and diamonds, set in 18-karat gold and in recycled, richly patinated copper. According to Brunini, the collection grew out of her pandemic experience. “The point of “Brutalism” is that it’s possible to grow from the pain by creating personal solutions” to one’s condition or through “making a creative expression.” Like the journey to the legendary land of OZ, Brunini continued, “We realize that there is no place like home. One finds courage, wisdom, heart and home within.”

Alive with bold forms, high-grade gemstones, noble metals as well as upcycled copper, Brunini observed that her new range “draws its formal style from the post-World War II Brutalist architectural movement, rather than from Brutalist 1960s and 70s jewelry.” While some may associate the word Brutalism with aggression, Brunini noted, “For me, Brutalism means a barren land of vulnerability, where we have to be quite stoic and brave.” Therefore, she explained, “My Brutalism collection is a reflection of what we’ve all gone through during the last three years. We were stripped down, bare; naked, raw. We were shape shifted…at least some of us.”

One of the more philosophical goldsmiths in the high luxury realm, Brunini mused, “Sometimes life feels brutal because it really is brutal. Other times, the beauty of life can feel absolutely overwhelming because we feel so grateful to be alive. The “Brutalism” collection, Brunini continued, “is sparked by that experience, and by the balance achieved by juxtaposing natural shades of copper from pink to green verdigris. My designs contain organic compositions, colored gemstones, and diamonds, materials which are all miracles from the earth. This collection of artistic jewels radiates unity with nature, humanity, and art.”

“Brutalism” also bears some hallmarks of Brunini’s previous creations, namely: boldly sensual silhouettes and the contrasts between intriguing textures, rare gemstones and precious metals with compelling found objects. The dramatic silhouettes and shapes in the collection include pyramids, ruins, starbursts and a shape that is similar to the domed oculus of the Pantheon. From a critical standpoint, these distinctive jewels compel people to pay attention to them due to their caliber of design, quality of materials, artisanal finesse, and luxurious production values.

As Brunini wrote in an email, “Some of the new collection’s statement pieces include hoop earrings in copper with diamond rivets, an exceptional one-of-a-kind Burmese faceted amber suite of jewels with copper spray, and apocalyptically bold earring inspired by a Mayan headdress (in their use of rustic diamonds), opals in matrix, and hot pink spinel with copper starbursts.” Her lockets, which are extravagantly adorned with gems on the front, contrast with a copper oculus in back. “These lockets are an ode to creation and destruction,” she added.

As Brunini explained, “These ancient and natural forms emanate from the same imaginative realm where my design aesthetic has always lived. I use diamonds like “Rosie the Riveter” to attach strips of copper with diamonds set in bezel rivets. As I developed the collection, I burned and melted many prototypes beyond repair. I made a mess, then cleaned it up.” Eventually she figured out a workable method. “I kept it simple by cutting with scissors, and laser riveting the pieces together.” The way she worked with the copper material was inspired by some copper Scandinavian light fixtures. “The gems I chose were ones that I had in my safe, waiting to come to life. Coincidentally, many of the gems were block shaped. I set them in copper rectangles, then fanned them out like peacock feathers and starbursts.”

It’s worth noting here that global fine jewelry leaders like Tiffany & Co., plus fourth generation, family-owned heritage jewelry houses like Hemmerle of Munich all have used copper to great effect in their luxurious, limited-edition jewels. Regarding the copper in Brunini’s Brutalism collection, Brunini related, “The copper was in my backyard, waiting for me. It had been exposed for over ten years to the sun, rain and salty sea air. The patina was perfect on one side thanks to natural decay, and the other side was colored was a beautiful rosy warmth.” Guided by the “less is more” credo of Brutalist architect Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, Brunini enjoyed the challenge of repurposing recycled copper to transform her ideas into jewelry. “Using the copper from my backyard represents the epitome of sustainability,” she wrote. “It’s totally electromagnetic. Reused and repurposed in reverence of nature.”

Brunini has long been guided by her appreciation for sculpture, structures, plus fine art from all historical eras. The design possibilities inherent within such diverse materials as diamonds, Australian opals, geodes, colored sapphires, tourmalines, rare woods from furniture off-cuts and myriad found objects continue to fuel her fire for design. As the carefully patinated copper in Brunini’s Brutalism is upcycled from metal salvaged from her backyard, this is a notably sustainable luxury jewelry collection. As she noted in our conversation, “I’ve been making jewelry from a vast range of repurposed materials and found objects for 30 years, before we started using words like sustainable.”

Regarding primary influences on her Brutalism collection, Brunini credits the U.S. sculptor David Smith (1906 – 1965) as a major inspiration, for in the early 1930s, he was incorporating found objects such as scrap metal, shells, wood, wire and bones into his sculptural reliefs. “Smith’s welded steel sculptures,” she said, “also inform how I envision my jewelry designs.” Alexander Calder (1898 – 1976), who made kinetic and free-standing sculptures as well as luxurious art jewelry out of copper, brass, and sterling silver, is another important figure. As she puts it, “Alexander Calder is a great example of someone who created both jewelry and sculpture. Those achievements I admire endlessly. I would love to create on a larger scale in the future.” Other historical figures from whom she drew visual design inspiration included architects Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius, plus the sculptor Henry Moore.

Katey Brunini’s process is greatly helped by screening out distractions, so she has more time to imagine original designs. “Art requires sustained internal questioning and communication, and a spark within oneself,” she wrote. “Most people never nurture this spark, because it requires such time-consuming and energy-intensive attention, plus often uncomfortable effort and practice.” Like the wildflowers that bloom amidst cracks in the sidewalk, “the artistic challenges involved in creating beautiful and sustainable jewels make the world sparkle, so it’s all worth it. Let love rule.” she said. Brunini’s Brutalism range is carried at luxury stores like Neiman Marcus. For more information about Brutalism and other K. Brunini Jewels, contact: [email protected]