Look Around: Clash de Cartier Exhibition in Los Angeles

Welcome to Look Around, a new section of Mari Go Round that lets photography drive the narrative. Tune in every week as I visually take you along with me to cool, far-flung attractions, events and happenings in Southern California and beyond. 

The world of Clash de Cartier is one that pulls apart into two. Fissured lines split white from gold, and gold from black. Forms collide. The angled geometry of gold studs, spikes and the pyramid-like clous carrés, which at first appear locked in their rigidity, but in fact, dance fluidly with motion. The darkness of Tahitian pearls and onyx, and the sparkle of amethysts and diamonds that sing under the light in some utopian key. Cartier’s new collection “embraces the modern spirit through its inherent paradoxes.” But despite that duality, the hybridity of personality, movement, form and color, everything here comfortably coexists. The collection might have disparate ideas, but they seem largely to agree.

That’s the feeling I get when perusing the maison’s exhibition on Melrose Avenue, which debuted on Aug. 26. As a concept installation, the place evokes a sense of curiosity and wonder, decked out with a hall of mirrors and whimsical corridors. Rings, bracelets, earrings and watches from the more edgy Clash de Cartier collection are thoughtfully showcased in elegant displays with barely-there glass, and the electric-dance soundscape, dreamed up by Finneas, boasts a certain staccato-like geometry within itself. It is, overall, a highly sensory experience. 

That said, I find myself wanting to learn more about Cartier — its history, ethos and evolution — and that’s where the exhibition fell short. There are introduction labels, sure, but the copy is clunky and muddy with sentences that chase their own tail. Visit if you’re in the area and if you have anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes to spare, but don’t wait too long. The exhibition is only here till Sept. 1. 

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