Jewellery as a Sign of Spatial Relationship Have observers and users finally become aware of the fact that contemporary jewellery design is an artistic discipline good enough to express one's opinions? Can we shift from already accepted comments referring to freedom to choose material, new modes of evaluations, social relevancy, in other words, can we shift from the usual epithets attached to jewellery defining it as a marginal discipline of art whose prefix changes according to our needs or wishes? A bit over two years ago while I was writing a text for monograph on Nenad Roban's jewellery, I was trying to define a wider context of his work. The reason for this came from several series created by the author during past years in which it became visible to what extent he was inspired by the real world and environment which he perceived and tried to reflect in the medium of jewellery and its specific format. It was architecture which often triggered subsequent processes notwithstanding whether we decide to interpret them as reductionistic, "distillatory" or ideological.  In recent years Nenad Roban returns to architecture as his permanent inspiration. However, we are not dealing with immediate influences that the admirers of architectonics can detect automatically: rather what is at stake here is an attempt to condense and transfer experience of the body in a real space, their interdependence and emphasis of their interrelationship; what is at stake is communication which architecture sets in motion demanding from the author to interpret the visible and lay bare specific details. Let us mention, among other things, various sensations appearing at the contact point between internal and external space - body and its immediate surrounding - and the creative act attempts to elucidate their rhythm of communication and various factors influencing thereupon. Apart from composition whose elements of rhythm, emptiness and fullness ratio and light and shadow ratio participate in architectonic nature of individual object, the choice of material is another important factor contributing to better understanding of the artist's concept. Metal and wood represent permanent motivation and the artist returns to them after many years of experimenting with worthless materials and discarded and ready-made objects. Let us mention transparency of Plexiglas used by the artist to transform initial characteristics of the material and establish connection, by combining colours and forms, with, inter alia, historical avant-gardes that have influenced his previous work. Following movable minimalist objects made of inox, kinetics is instantaneously expressed in a different manner - in the clash of elements jewellery is made of, in various design of different parts (we must agree that the direction of each dice that is cast is different). After a period of forms of quite a simple design, there is superfluity of movements, of possibility to change or rearrange parts, shift them towards or away from the body. Unity of movements and forms craved by the artists becomes layered, and once strictly defined curves in the manner of Max Bill become upgraded almost inevitably by the artist’s personal experience. Narrativity of wood is coordinated with the silence of Plexiglas and metal. Their relationship in terms of colourist scheme and warmth in colour is complementary and attention is given to internal space of jewellery (visible and implicit). It is possible to see body through slits. Sensitivity and multifarious meaning of the relationship between jewellery and body correspond to aspects often found in literature. Conceptual experience of jewellery design which has been present from the 1970s onwards and is characterized by approaching object as an independent entity and especially position in which jewellery establishes contact with body (also referring to social and/or psychological phenomena), represents a frame within which it is necessary to deconstruct individual approach of Nenad Roban who does not discard tradition of material design and decoration. Maintaining the integrity of a researcher on the basis of his competence of contemporary cultural issues, Roban consciously uses these artistic strategies thus participating in transgressing the limits of artistic discipline of jewellery design.  Sandra Križić Roban My mate Robi and the role of jewellery in my life There is a whole abundance of books with the title "my mate this and that" talking about the importance of friendship. On the other hand, titles such as "my mother-in-law" or "my boss" and similar ones don't seem attract attention. This is exactly why my sketch has this title, as a dedication to my mate. Robi designs jewellery and I, on the other hand, design words and we both usually use common and cheap materials. He uses rubber, wood, wire, screws and I use barbarisms, indecent verbs and vocabulary of a marginal scumbag. Hence, the only "precious stones" that both of us like are those that are "rolling". And here, in the seventh line we already touch upon our main topic, the Rolling Stones, everything connected to them, what they are planning to do, whether any band member has had an accident or became stuck in rehab, when exactly they are releasing something, and what towns are within the radius of two thousand kilometres so that we could drop by at the concert. Do you catch my drift, we play ping pong and the ball flies over the fence and he is ostensibly too lazy to get it. And then again, he goes to the Stones in Rotterdam as if it is around the corner. Unbelievable! Robi is, by the way, a mate who never forgets my birthday whereas I am a scoundrel who tends to forget his. And I always get for my birthday from him something belonging to our private musical mythology. For instance, a mini music box producing the tune from "Satisfaction" with fifty percent accuracy, a puzzle box with an image of the Stones almost in natural size, and what not. I can expect now a corn from Charley Watts or a coconut that has fallen from a palm tree together with Keith Richards. My mate Robi claims that his designer jewellery must have features of the person it is destined for. He directs his psychoanalytical gaze towards the person, scans him or her and makes, let's say, a bracelet or a broach reflecting the whole personality. Even though I am not a type to wear jewellery, I own an artefact that Robi has made for me and given it to me for my birthday. Those are shirt buttons or cufflinks as they are called. Now, don't say that that this is not jewellery just because common folks don't wear such elaborate decorations and rather sew in hair or plastic buttons. I am reconstructing how things must have developed. Robi simply looked at me analytically, analysed all dark corners of my consciousness and the archetypical substratum at the bottom of my ego, and simply made for me buttons with the emblem from the album "Between the Buttons". If you wonder whose album that is, you are totally out of the loop. So, Robi concluded that this would perfectly fit my personality. And he was not wrong. The only bummer is that I idiotically keep wearing short sleeve shirts, even in winter when normal people don't wear them. But these fantastic buttons with the Stones! I liked them so much that I immediately went to the store and bought a shirt by Modea from Garešnica. And so, the image of my stubborn and bitchy person has been deconstructed and has changed. I have become a man with one piece of jewellery and one long sleeve shirt. I will wear it to the next party in Hungary. Robi, please arrange everything that is necessary for this exhibition and come directly to the concert. I'll be waiting for you near the stage with a beer can. See you in Budapest! Goran Tribuson Nenad Roban (Koprivnica, 1951) graduated jewellery design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerpen, Belgium (1977) where he enrolled in postgraduate programme (1989-1990). At the beginning of the 1990s, he opened an atelier for jewellery design where he still works today. From 2001 he has been working as a freelance artist - jewellery designer. He cooperates with jewellers and jewellery designers from Croatia and Europe studying and upgrading design skills and techniques. He has given several lectures on contemporary jewellery He is a member of the Croatian Association of Artists. From 1999 he manages Gallery Križić together with Sandra Križić. In 2005, the gallery published a monograph entitled Nenad Roban Nakit Jewellery. During his studies, he received two awards for design - Inno Bourla (1976) and Ringer&Diamond (1977), both in Antwerpen. In 2006 he was nominated the best jewellery designer and received the award for his collection of designer jewellery (Zlatna poluga-Mineralexpo, Zagreb). Solo exhibitions Gallery Rigo - Museum Lapidarium, Novigrad, 2007 Gallery V&V, Vienna, 2006 Gallery Karas, Zagreb, 2005 Gallery Križić Roban, Zagreb, 1999 Gallery Grubić, Zagreb, 1997 Gallery ULUPUH, Zagreb, 1992. i 1997 Gallery za jedan dan, OKC, Zagreb, 1988 Gallery Likum, Zagreb, 1987 Gallery Nova, Zagreb, 1985 Gallery Lotrščak, Zagreb, 1983 Gallery Nazor, Zagreb, 1981 Gallery DARS, Zagreb, 1981 Gallery Izlog, Zagreb, 1978 Group exhibitions (selection) Valuable Links. Jewels from OSCE Countries, MEEC, Centre Céramique, Maastricht, 2003, National Gallery for Foreign Art, Sofia, Bulgaria, 2004, Österreichisches Museum für Volkskunde, Vienna, 2004 Et pourqui pas?, Galerie Black and Karusel, Paris, 2001 Tjelesno - aspekti suvremene figurativne umjetnosti (The Corporal - Aspects of Contemporary Figurative Art) Gallery PM, Zagreb, 2000 34th Zagreb Salon, Zagreb, 1999 31st Zagreb Salon, Zagreb, 1996  Artistic Designer Jewellery, City Museum Sisak, 1995 19 Laden, Werkstadt Galerie, Graz, 1991-1992 O zajedničkom u prirodnom (On the Common in Natural), 22nd Youth Salon, Zagreb, 1990 Contemporary Jewellery, Museum of Arts and Crafts, Zagreb, 1988 Odijelo - otvoreno djelo (Suit - Open Work), Gallery Galženica, Velika Gorica, 1988 25x junger schmuck international, Galerie Kunsthandwerk, Berlin, Forum Handwerk, Mainz, Galerie Goldader, Hamburg, 1987.-1988 17th International Exhibition of Jewellery, Celje, 1983 Zatečeno u atelieru (Found in the Atelier), Gallery Karas, Zagreb, 1980 50 Years of Rotary Club, Antwerpen, 1976