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THE NEW YORK TIMES, SATURDAY, APRIL 29, 1972
SHOP TALK

Jewelry That Mirrors Her Sculpture

The who: Barbara Chase Riboud. Black, young, beautiful, talented sculptor and jeweler. Lives and works in Paris. Married to a French photo-journalist. Has two young sons. Has had one-man shows and been in group shows in major cities in the United States, Canada and Europe. Art influenced by travels to Egypt, Africa, China. 
The what: Sculpture scaled large enough for a modern-day pyramid by a young woman who looks like she could be descended from Nubian royalty. Jewelry designs that look like smaller versions of her large polished bronze and aluminum sculptures – even to the dangling knotted, twisted or looped silk cord.
The why: "The basic idea behind my present sculpture and jewelry," she says, "is the combining of two opposing materials, hard and soft, which I feel has African connotations, if one considers the wooden African mask combined with other materials like raffia, hemp or cord." But Mrs. Riboud's materials are bronze and silk, bronze and wool, steel and synthetic. 
"When it works, the tension and opposition between the two materials transfers some of the aspects of one to the other; the metal becomes 'soft' and silk becomes 'hard' to form a unity of opposites."
The when-and-where: Right now an exhibit of her latest works is being held through May 21 at the Betty Parsons Gallery, 24 West 57th Street. The eleven jewelry designs on display in the gallery come in editions of eight and prices range from $750 to $2,400 for the necklaces, bracelets and rings. 
An order for a piece from F. & F. Gennari in Paris can be placed at the gallery, and "delivery would probably take three to four weeks," Mrs. Riboud says. 
A gold ring with movable hinged parts costs $750; two similar rings that fit together and are made to be worn on adjacent fingers cost $1,200; a narrow gold choker and pendant with black cord tassels, $1,800.
The what-is-she-up-to-now-and-what-next: "Right now, I'm enjoying doing sculptures for the insides and outsides of buildings," she says. "I did a fountain sculpture for the Wheaton Plaza Shopping Center near Washington, D.C., and more recently I've done a bronze work for the inside of the Keystone Building in Boston." 
In addition to her sculpture and jewelry designs, Mrs. Riboud writes poetry. "I'd like to design the costumes and sets for a ballet, here in the city, based on my poem called 'Anna,'" she said.

[[Image]]
The New York Times/Alex Palmer
Barbara Riboud standing by her sculpture wears one of her own necklaces