The exhibition showcases the works of art of 19 international and Chinese artists conveying endless interpretations of the Serpenti iconic design, along with enchanting new Serpenti creations.
A universal symbol that has captured the imagination of humanity, the snake has been revered as a powerful emblem throughout Chinese culture. Its multitude of meanings resonates in the narrative of constant reinvention perpetuated by Bvlgari’s Serpenti since 1948 and has found in the boundless field of art a fertile ground to unfold its transformative and always fascinating nature.
2025, the Year of the Snake according to Chinese tradition, offers a momentous occasion for the Roman High Jeweler to continue engaging in this ever-evolving cross-cultural dialogue between East and West, past and present, art and jewelry, history and innovation. An endless territory of mutual exchange which keeps expanding its fascination with the Serpenti Infinito Exhibition: a new journey, debuting in Shanghai on January 8, 2025, that invites to immerse into the infinite transformations of the snake through art, history and contemporary creative expressions. From the more traditional forms of representation to Artificial Intelligence, the serpent unfolds both its rich legacy and limitless potential in the universe of art.
After a two-year international path, launched in 2023 on the occasion of Serpenti’s 75th anniversary and focusing on the snake as an endless source of inspiration for artistic production, the journey now continues to strengthen Serpenti’s identity not only as an emblematic design, but as a sign that bridges different cultures, interpretations and creative expressions. In this context, a new work by Refik Anadol, “Infinito: AI Data Sculpture,” will be unveiled, representing the first time the artist will place a three-dimensional sculpture in the center of a 360-degree mirrored room to create a spectacular interaction between light and form. Inspired by Serpenti’s journey of transformation and beauty, the installation marks a new chapter in the collaboration between Bvlgari and Anadol which began in 2021.
For the first installment of the Serpenti Infinito Exhibitions, 28 artworks by 19 Chinese and international artists, of which 11 created exclusively for the occasion, will be on display along with Bvlgari’s Serpenti creations in the vibrant setting of Zhangyuan, the largest and best-preserved shikumen compound in Shanghai – an architectural style renowned for its fusion of Chinese and Western elements -now revitalized into a unique cultural and commercial landmark in the heart of the city, embodying the eclectic spirit and constant transformations of the metropolis.
Embracing the many creative territories that are part of the symbol’s multifaceted identity, the exhibition unfolds into three different chapters. Chapter I, CRAFTING SERPENTS IN HISTORY, focuses on the creature’s profound symbolic resonance in traditional Chinese culture throughout mythology, art, and daily life. Chapter II, SNAKES IN THE ARTS, explores the multiple meanings that the snake has taken on in different artistic expressions through its three significances of Wisdom, Protection and Power. Finally, Chapter III, CONTEMPORARY TRANSFORMATIONS, investigates the very essence of the concept of “infinito” in relation to the sign, inviting to discover its infinite Forms, boundless Imagination and limitless Creativity.
And while the serpent unveils the multiple roles and significances it has taken and keeps taking through Chinese culture, tradition and art, Bvlgari’s Serpenti unfolds the infinite potential behind its magnificent craftsmanship, versatile nature and always evolving designs with a magnificent selection from Bvlgari Heritage, watches and fine jewelry collections, including some unreleased High Jewelry one-of-a-kind creations, on display in the three chapters of the exhibition.
Furthermore, two dedicated Serpenti Experiences enrich the journey inviting to explore the sign’s legacy through a fresh and innovative vision.
CHAPTER I – CRAFTING SERPENTS IN HISTORY
The legend of Serpenti is deeply intertwined with the history of humanity. Known for its unique ability to shed its skin, the snake has captured human imagination since ancient times, inspiring myths and tales across cultures worldwide. Its transformative nature has led to associations with metamorphosis, healing, immortality, rebirth, power, and revelation.
In Chinese culture, the snake symbolizes good luck, wealth, and strong vitality. In the animal pantheon of Chinese Zodiac, people born in the year of snake are believed to be wise, intuitive and strategic. Going back in time, the divine creators Fu Xi and Nv Wa are depicted as two entwined snakes, the ancient Chinese folk tale of the White Serpent refers to the snake’s metamorphic essence, snakeskin patterns appear on mediums used to communicate with immortals, and the turtle-snake Black Tortoise god stands a symbol of longevity.
This stratification of meanings and intrinsic syncretism of the emblem has inspired the Roman Maison since 1948, when its first Serpenti creations made their debut as jewelry-watches to be wrapped around the wrist. Since then, the Bvlgari emblem has undergone a process of endless transformation embracing a multitude of workmanships, designs and materials. Tubular, encrusted with gems, covered with multi-colored enamels and always crafted through creative and cutting-edge goldsmithing techniques: an evolution narrated by the magnificent 11 creations of the Bvlgari Heritage Collection displayed at the exhibition. From the stylized Serpenti Tubogas jewelry-watches of the 1960s onwards to a stunning contemporary yellow gold Serpenti belt inspired by one from the 1970s, passing through the multicolored and precious liveries of the 1970s, and some of the most legendary creations such as the five-coil Serpenti Pallini yellow gold bracelet-watch with diamond head (ca. 1955), this exquisite selection offers a full immersion into more than seven decades of captivating transformations.
In this chapter, visitors are invited to discover the legendary charm and power of the mystic totem through ancient artifacts and historical relieves that find new life in dialogue with the artworks of contemporary Chinese artists.
Through her work “Serpent Teng in the Golden Realm”, artist Luo Ming articulates her reflections on life experiences and the natural world. Employing visual stimulation and expressive techniques to move fluidly between abstraction and imaginary, she engages in a dialogue between the installation and the surrounding space, inspiring profound thoughts on life and nature.
Known for his innovative approach to traditional Chinese ink painting, Qiu Anxiong stands as a representative figure in contemporary ink animation. His painting “The Mysterious Peach Spring – A Rendezvous with Snake” reinterprets The Snake Man from Pu Songling’s Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (Liaozhai Zhiyi). Within a Chinese landscape of verdant mountains and crystalline waters, a snake keeper and a green snake crosses paths, their bond embodying a poignant and harmonious union between human and nature.
The young sculptor Mo Lijuan, who refined her artistic vision at the Rome Academy of Fine Arts, blends traditional Chinese craftsmanship with a global artistic vocabulary, collaborating closely with traditional artisans to breathe new life into historical practices. In her work “Spring Encounter” she reinterprets traditional crafts, such as the art of enameling, through deconstructive artistic techniques and infuses them with renewed vigor.
CHAPTER II – SNAKES IN THE ARTS
With its richness of stratified cultural connotations, the snake was naturally destined to intertwine with the world of art, as much as with that of Bvlgari’s creativity, serving as an infinite territory of imagination.
An endless source of inspiration for artistic production, the serpent has been and continues to be perpetually rebirthed through different art mediums – such as ceramics, glass, stone, but also mixed media like sculpture and sound, painting and video – creative styles, techniques and materials.
WISDOM
With his work “Square Word Calligraphy: Serpenti”, the world-renowned Chinese contemporary artist Xu Bing explores the correlation between the serpent and wisdom. The artist challenges visitor to consider how the creative use of language, words and texts shape the individual understanding of the world. Like a linguistic alchemist, he combines Chinese calligraphic art with English writing, forging a new “element” of textual language.
For her artwork “Between the lines”, Artist and Product Designer Azza Al Qubaisi draws inspiration from the shifts and movements of nature, echoed by the serpent’s transformative essence. Her sculpture is crafted in mild steel, for its earthy, rusty effect, which symbolizes the passage of time.
PROTECTION
The serpent coiled around a staff, grants humanity the power of rebirth and healing, thus expressing the essence of protective love.
In this section, Li Daiguo, a leading figure in Chinese experimental music, and Li Shurui, a visual artist renowned for her paintings that explore the theme of “light”, build a fascinating artist couple that invites visitors to reflect on the protective power of the serpent. With “We · Entwinement”, the duo presents a musical composition created as a love letter, seamlessly blending classical instruments with modern sounds.
POWER
The serpent’s transformation embodies the primordial power and telluric forces of nature, symbolizing its perpetual cycle of self-renewal: a connection between the cosmos and the mythical animal that has been explored both by Bvlgari and by the artists of this section.
Cate M sculptures, “The Small and Big Python Head” and “The Mandarin”, are molded in clay and finely carved in bronze. These works dive into the serpent’s multifaceted symbolism and evolutionary prowess. Through her creations, she explores the multiple meanings associated to the animal, and its ability to continuously adapt to the evolution of society.
In his work “New Stoneware – Serpenti”, the famed contemporary Chinese ceramic artist Wu Haoyu explores the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature as embodied in traditional Chinese culture. The artist employs Dehua white porcelain as a medium to reinterpret “Blanc-de-Chine”, a cultural symbol that captivated Europe as early as the 19th century, infusing it with a new contemporary significance and creative vitality.
CHAPTER III – CONTEMPORARY TRANSFORMATIONS
The polymorphic essence of the serpent perfectly aligns with contemporary and innovative forms of art and means of expression. Exploring the concept of infinity, this chapter focuses on the snake as a wellspring of endless forms, boundless imagination and unlimited creativity. With its innate ability to always take on new guises, the emblem represents an ideal subject for a new generation of artists that works with multiple media and different materials, combining traditional symbols with innovative and futuristic creative concepts. Further empowered by artificial intelligence and lighting, the snake unveils its transcendent qualities, slithering between the virtual and the real, in a process of perpetual creative renewal.
FORM
The many forms of the snake in nature ignited the creative vision of Refik Anadol, whose fluid data sculptures are analogous to Bvlgari’s ever-shifting Serpenti motif, utilized machine learning algorithms trained on a nature dataset fine-tuned specifically on snakes for the creative vision of “Infinito: AI Data Sculpture.” Celebrating the relationship between nature’s inherent beauty and the unbounded capabilities of artificial intelligence, the work conveys a metamorphic journey evoking Bvlgari’s timeless elegance in a new and visionary form.
In the same section, Hong Seung-Hye presents “Snake, Too Long”, a series of wall artworks exploring the many and multifaceted forms the snake can take. Rooted in the artist’s unique creative language, the installation interprets the rich metaphors associated to the snake in dialogue with the symbolic meaning of Bvlgari’s Serpenti collection.
The series of computer-generated imagery under the name “Serpenti Odyssey”, created by Utopic Arabia, takes viewers on a journey through time and space, tracing the serpent’s symbolic path from ancient Rome to the captivating Middle Eastern landscapes: a hunt for the animal’s mythical origins through imaginative visuals.
IMAGINATION
Continuing the itinerary under the sign of boundless imagination, the interactive wall installation “Snake Scales Mirror” by Daniel Rozin translates the golden scales of Serpenti into a kinetic, mechanical sculpture. Focusing on the manipulation of physical objects, the artist creates a moving mechanical display that allows viewers to be reflected in the work.
The avant-garde Chinese artist Fei Jun focuses on the narrative of the hybrid fields constructed by both virtual and physical realms. His work series “Geometry of Emotions 5.0” – created in collaboration with mathematicians, psychologists, and scientists – explores emotional interaction. By skillfully integrating cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology, he delves into the intersection of art and science in psychological healing.
In his work “Infinite Flow”, the young digital artist Zhou Chao centers on algorithmic generation, exploring the limitless possibilities of combining technology and art. Specific algorithms act as the driving force of creative production, generating a unique both virtual and physical artwork through machine intelligence.
CREATIVITY
In this section, the snake is contemplated as a limitless source of creative production, imagined and interpreted through contemporary means of expressions. Specialized in working with glass, Xie Wendi uncovers its inherent dialectical contradictions exploring a variety of materials and substances through this unique medium. In her work “Spring”, the artist transforms the physical form and state of materials, establishing associations between her own body and public spaces.
Building upon the Rococo style, Xue Feng, recognized as a promising painter of the millennial generation, employs riotous painterly brushstrokes and experiments with spatial construction on canvas. These individualistic explorations embrace the creative potential of the serpent in the artwork “Infinite Door”.
Specialized in recreating subtle, profound, and complex moments through various art forms, Qi Le roots her artwork “Lucid Dream” in nature and dreams, delivering her unique interpretation between the dynamic and inseparable bond between the serpent, human creativity and the telluric forces of the earth.
THE ART OF HIGH JEWELRY
Contemporary transformations also take shape through the exclusive one-of-a-kind Serpenti High Jewelry creations unveiled for the occasion and displayed in this chapter, showing the infinite potential of endless reinvention behind the Bvlgari sign. Among the magnificent selection, a few standout masterpieces unfold the inspiring power and magnetic allure of Serpenti through the sublime convergence of unrivalled craftsmanship, unique design and incredibly rare gemstones.
Crafted in white gold the Serpenti Infinito High Jewelry necklace, bracelet and brooch is artfully set with onyx elements, buff top rubies and pavé diamonds. The meticulous inlay technique adopted by Bvlgari’s master artisans exalts the sinuous movements and elegant coils of the snake’s body, in a skilled interpretation of the jewels’ design. In the necklace, five serpents converge into an infinite and seamless motif, echoing the ancestral forces of the universe and its perpetual cycle of endless rebirth.
A stunning 140.53 carat rubellite stands at the heart of the Serpenti Rubellite Crown High Jewelry necklace, the first ever Serpenti chain sautoir – another testament to the snake’s ability to always shed its skin and embrace new forms. Held by a delicate pavé-set prong, the magnificent gem is suspended by an elegant chain, embellished with onyx inserts, buff-top emeralds and sparkling diamonds. Infusing a timeless symbol with a contemporary edge, the Serpenti Emerald Nimbus High Jewelry necklace in white gold blends natural elegance with architectural rigor, from design to craftsmanship. With a smooth 12.73-carat emerald from Zambia, whose deep green hue evokes the richness of nature’s most sacred treasures, the necklace features a geometric-style serpent entirely lit with multi-shaped diamonds, that seems intent on reaching the precious stone.
This infinite metamorphosis continues with the stunning seven-coil Serpenti Tubogas High Jewelry watch, which flows uninterrupted around the wrist. The mesmerizing suppleness of the tubogas bracelet evokes the fluid silhouette of the mythical animal, while the head is fully set with diamonds.
Another metamorphosis that animates the universe of the snake comes with the new Serpenti Cuore 1968 bag, launched on the occasion of the Year of the Snake. As the name reveals, its distinctive shape recalls the two halves of a heart that complement each other: one made up of the bag’s body, the other of the sinuous snake body-shaped handle.
SERPENTI EXPERIENCES
In keeping with its legacy of pushing the boundaries of creativity to offer meaningful and innovative ways to appreciate the world of luxury, Bvlgari introduces two innovative experiences propelling the Maison’s values of excellence, know-how and ingenuity into the future.
Born to celebrate the Year of the Snake, Serpenti Infinito is an immersive virtual reality experience inviting to discover firsthand Serpenti’s endless ability to transform and be reborn in the digital realm. The many evolutions and changes achieved through Bvlgari’s artisanal mastery and boundless creativity are here translated into an innovative language, connecting real and virtual world.
Furthermore, the creations displayed at Serpenti Exhibition, are housed into an Interactive Product Showcase, offering a captivating exploration of the collection. The display responds to the visitor’s presence, transforming the backdrop into a dynamic storytelling platform with texts, images, and historical details revealing the rich heritage and exceptional craftsmanship behind each creation.
The Serpenti Infinito Exhibition will be open to the public from January 9th to February 16th, 2025, inviting visitors to immerse themselves in a world of timeless magnetism and transformative beauty.
