The first exhibition of contemporary Greek art jewelry entitled "A Jewel Made in Greece" held in Athens this week proved that creativity and art cannot be defeated by the economic crisis.

The exhibition set up by artist Maria Samoli and curated by art historian Iris Kritikou, attracted more than 3,000 visitors.

In the industrial cultural venue of Technopolis Gazi in Athens, 26 contemporary jewelers, along with seven Greek museums and six famous goldsmiths who pioneered the export of Greek jewelry worldwide united their powers to showcase today's art jewelry, its roots in Greek culture and promote its image overseas.

Classical, Hellenistic and Minoan Mycenaean art has been a fountain of inspiration for thousands years. In the middle of the hall a selection of emblematic jewelry replicas from Greek museums enchanted the visitors.

"As I wanted to honor the work of these artists and remind that there is no parthenogenesis, I made a symbolic introduction with the presence of great museums," said Kritikou while interviewed by Xinhua.

"We have also jewels from pioneering artists like Takis Vassilakis and Sofia Thanopoulou, widely known with the pseudonym Maroulina. The visitors can admire jewels created for the National Opera's plays Anna Bolena and Fedora by Greek art directors like Nikos Georgiadis and Yiannis Metzikof," the art historian explained.

Kritikou stressed that the current lines and shapes of the contemporary art jewels reflect the past.

"Through our past we get inspiration, we can modernize and find our way towards a competitive and desirable jewel that can be equal in every market in the world," she added.

Young and more experienced art jewelers presented their collections with passion during the exhibition which winds up this weekend.

"It's not an easy going procedure. We must be more active by finding new customers and new opportunities, make very careful moves without getting false hopes from bank loans like previous years. And most importantly, we must avoid depression, on the contrary only hope for the better", haute jewellery designer Mihail Pelamidis told Xinhua. Endi

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