ASSOULINE Art | Cross Purpose

Bespoke jewelry designer and artist Adria de Haume fashioned her rst cross sculpture in 1982 to encourage the recovery of a critically ill friend. She has since harnessed the power of the cruciform to create a splendid array of personal, intricate, and truly meaningful cross- centric pieces. For three decades, de Haume’s sculptures have inspired, comforted, and delighted viewers and collectors. Cross Purpose is an exquisitely striking homage to this dominant and revered art form, illustrating the range of materials de Haume uses in her craft.

This volume displays de Haume’s body of work through four compelling themes: Politics and Play, comprising pieces with titles such as Gorbachev Cross and Superhero Cross; Fashion and Fancy, including tributes to the great fashion houses such as Chanel, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton; Poets and Painters, honoring Donne, Hemingway, Schnabel, Warhol, and many more; and Saints and Saintly, venerating not only saints such as St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Alexandria but also saint-like individuals including humanitarian Raoul Wallenberg. This beautiful slipcase edition includes a comprehensive catalogue raisonné of de Haume’s cross sculptures, panels, and prints from 1989 to the present. Charles Riley’s detailed essay interpreting de Haume’s works is a tribute to the complexity and depth of each piece’s unique story.