Robert Mazlo

Jewellery maker | Boulogne-Billancourt, France

Recommended by

L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts

Storyteller-jeweller

Robert was born in a family of goldsmiths and jewellers
He never makes the same piece of jewellery twice
His work appears in private and public collections worldwide

Born in Beirut in 1949, Robert Mazlo wanted to be a writer. However, when he began learning the basics of jewellery at 14 in the workshop run by his father and other workshops in Beirut, he was won over by the craft. Since then, he has been telling stories, his own and those of others, through unique pieces of jewellery, miniature works of art to wear. “These objects are not meant to be symbols of power or status. They are rather snapshots of their time, objects whose function is to challenge. In this operation, I play the role of catalyst.” Robert makes a piece of jewellery entirely by hand, without resorting to new technologies or subcontractors. “The only thing I do not do is go and extract the materials myself!"

Interview

©Bob Ivanovitch

Did you learn from a master?: I had the chance to study with Maestro Grossi, known as the author of several of the famous papal rings. He was a virtuoso of the saw, a master of the 'traforo', a technique now mastered by very few craftspeople.
Is your work influenced by your land?: My land is not part of a geographical area whose natural resources I would use. I always try not to participate in the extraction of new materials, preferring to recycle materials which are given to me to produce pieces. I draw most of my materials from the material memory of my clients. My land is that of the affect.
What inspires you?: Each piece is the reflection of who I am when I create it, through the prism of art. Inspiration is played out in this triangulation between my personal experience, my artistic references and the piece which transcends and goes beyond the anecdotal side of individual experience.
What is your definition of well made?: I could not define what is well made in absolute terms. In my own work, I know that an object meets the criterion of well made when I see nothing more to add. As if our dialogue had come to an end. The object is detached from me, it leads its own life.

Robert Mazlo is a master artisan: he began his career in 1973 and he started teaching in 1973