Bijou Contemporain, Robert Baines und Karl Fritsch

This two-person exhibition at a celebrated contemporary jewellery centre on the Cote-D'Azur, was supported by the local council. The work of Baines was shown with that of Karl Fritsch, (Germany).
"At first sight, their creative languages appear very different.. ..What links these two artists is the new mental dimension they offer the spectator, who sees feels and understands things differently when confronted with their work.. ..Both our artists exploit their materials in a scientific way, geologically or, as it were, geo-artistically.
Using the most advanced techniques, Baines studies and transforms gold as it was used by the Egyptian and Greek craftsmen of the past. His studies are appreciated by specialists from all over the world' (catalogue: Olga Zobel-Bir, Curator). 'Baines is one of the greatest technicians, historians and philosophers among art jewellers. ..he has mastered the technical subtleties of the ancient Etruscan goldsmiths so as to subject them to rigorously scientific historical study and transpose this knowledge. The archaeological relevance of the jewel is challenged by the choice of colours. His imaginative floral compositions and his brooches made of miniature thread of silver are coated in a fine coloured powder. It's a sort of industrial dye he has developed for his own needs. The texture is that of a finely-knit meshed structure, which has more than a simple aesthetic intention: the empty spaces or gaps in the material confirm the status of these brooches, suspended between existence and non-existence. Review: Maria-Bettina Eich, Schmuck Magazin, 2000/4 p64

本次双人展于蔚蓝海岸（Cote-D'Azur）一家知名当代珠宝中心举办，获当地市政委员会赞助。展览展出了贝恩斯（Baines）与德国艺术家卡尔·弗里奇（Karl Fritsch）的作品。
“策展引言写道：‘乍看之下，二人的创作语言大相径庭……但将两位艺术家联结在一起的，是他们为观者带来的全新精神维度——当观者直面其作品时，对事物的感知、体悟与理解都会发生改变。两位创作者均以科学的方式处理创作材料，从地质学层面，或是不妨称之为地质艺术的维度进行创作。’
“贝恩斯运用顶尖工艺，以古埃及与希腊古代工匠的黄金加工技法为蓝本，开展研究并改造黄金材质，其研究成果获得了全球业内专家的认可。”（展览画册：策展人奥尔加·措贝尔-比尔（Olga Zobel-Bir））
“贝恩斯是当代艺术珠宝领域最杰出的技艺大师、史学家与哲学家之一。他不仅熟练掌握了古伊特鲁里亚金匠的精妙技法，更对其展开严谨的科学史学研究，并将这些知识进行转化应用。
“他对色彩的选择，打破了珠宝本身的考古学关联性。贝恩斯极具想象力的花卉造型创作，以及以银质微型丝线打造的胸针，表面均覆有一层精细色粉——这是他为自身创作研发的特制工业染料。其作品的纹理呈现出细密编织的网格结构，这一设计绝非仅为美学考量：材质间的空隙与留白，赋予了这些胸针介于存在与虚无之间的独特状态。”
——评论：玛丽亚-贝蒂娜·艾希（Maria-Bettina Eich），《珠宝杂志（Schmuck Magazin）》，2000年第4期，第64页