Crystalline glaciers of glowing moonstone. Twisting leaves reaching for the sun. The spectral clouds of a vast nebula. Each captured by artist Neha Dani in gleaming gemstones and precious metals, rippling with arrested motion.
About Neha Dani
Neha Dani creates intricate three-dimensional jeweled sculptures inspired by the elemental energy of the cycle of life, from petal to wave to galaxies in the night. Poetry in form, volume, light, and color, each work is part of an edition exploring a single facet of the natural world in depth.
Dani sculpts each organic dimensional form in wax herself in meticulous detail, turning it in her hands to perfect every angle in three dimensions. After the form is complete, she adds the gems and colors she feels will complete the piece. She selects each gemstone personally, painting and carving the wax to position it in place to express her vision. Her palette is often bold and unconventional, with striking contrasts of colored metal and gems.
A team of the world’s finest jewelry craftsmen casts the final wax carving in gold or titanium, meticulously setting each gem into its final position under a microscope.
The journey of each complex one-of-a-kind jewel takes six months or more. One single bracelet is set with more than 12,000 fancy pink diamonds. Dani completes only about a dozen pieces each year so she can be personally involved in every step of the process. That’s why each wearable work of art has the clarity of her singular artistic vision.
Neha Dani’s journey from the younger daughter of a traditional Indian family to global art jeweler is an improbable one. Raised travelling the world, exposed to art and culture, she was still expected to marry young and dedicate herself to raising a family.
Instead, she decided to study gemology, travelling to California to study at the Gemological Institute of America. It was there she discovered a life-long passion for gems and carved her first jewelry pieces. After graduating from GIA, she went on to become a Fellow of the Gemological Association of England, returning to India to work as a gemologist at International Gemological Laboratories.
She began creating bespoke jewelry with fine gems and diamonds, holding successful solo shows across India. In 2014, encouraged by the response from collectors and media, she launched her international career at the JCK show in the US, immediately winning the show’s Rising Star Award and receiving global recognition. Exhibitions at the Couture show, PAD art fair in Paris, and Macklowe Gallery in New York followed.
In 2017, Neha Dani was profiled in Juliet Weir de la Rochefoucauld’s book “Women Jewellery Designers,” along with Victoire de Castellane, Coco Chanel and Paloma Picasso. In January 2019 she was awarded the Fashion Group International Rising Star Award, in May of the same year some of her work was selected by Sotheby’s for the In Bloom Exhibition (NY) and in June her new Series Shrishti (Universe) was presented in London by Trinity House Gallery. In November, Vogue Italia and The Salon of Art & Design in New York presented Neha Dani’s works as part of the Protagonists 2019 Exhibition.
Her work is featured in Vogue, VO+, Women’s Wear Daily and the New York Times.