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In 2023, I returned to Romanian Jewelry Week with the same collection I had presented earlier that year at AUTOR: X Point.
But it was not exactly the same.
At ROJW, the collection felt more structured, clearer, more distilled. I had removed the colorful resin pieces and stepped fully into a sharper, more explicit setup. The message was no longer split between playfulness and confrontation. It was direct. Focused. Unapologetic.
The pieces themselves were more evident, more sensual, more confident in their presence. Silver nipples with skin textures translated into metal were displayed without metaphorical cushioning. The conversation about censorship, taboo, and body politics was no longer whispered — it was articulated.
Interestingly, the reception felt different from AUTOR.
Although it was the same conceptual core, at ROJW the collection seemed better understood. Perhaps the framing was clearer. Perhaps the audience was different. Perhaps I was different — more grounded in what I was presenting. The discomfort was still there, but it was accompanied by curiosity rather than retreat.
As I mentioned before, X Point had already proven itself online. The collection sold very well digitally and generated numerous custom orders derived from the original pieces. By the time ROJW happened, I was no longer seeking validation — I already knew the work resonated. The fair became less about proving and more about presenting.
Romanian Jewelry Week itself was growing visibly in scale and ambition. Hosted at the National Library of Bucharest, the event felt expansive, almost overwhelming in size. It gathered a significant number of artists and visitors, signaling that contemporary jewelry in Romania is carving out a stronger public presence.
Of course, with growth come challenges. From my perspective, the space could have benefited from better ventilation and — very practically — phone signal in the fair area. When communication and transactions depend on connectivity, this becomes essential. But I am confident that the organizers are attentive and continuously refining the experience.
ROJW 2023 confirmed something important for me: when a collection is clear in its intention and you stand firmly behind it, the environment shifts. The same work that unsettled in one context can be received with openness in another.
X Point was no longer a question mark.
It was a statement.
