Patrizia Bonati was born in Italy in 1964. She followed a five-year apprenticeship as a jeweller between 1987 and 1991 and then set up her own workshop in Cremona, Italy. In 2002 she took a specialization course with the contemporary jewellery school Alchimia in Florence studying under the artist Giampaolo Babetto. Her work was presented in Collect 2006 at the V&A Museum, London. She has taken part in several exhibitions in Italy, France, The Netherlands, Germany, Portugal and her work has been shown in the Museo Civico Archeologico in Como, the Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale, Rome, and is part of the permanent collection of the Grassi Museum, Leipzig, Germany. In 2004 she co-founded AGC, the Italian association for contemporary jewellery. She is an executive committee member of the association and is involved in the organization of several jewellery-related events. Bonati's work is typically Italian in the use of materials, as she mostly avails herself of gold. She creates her own alloys producing interesting colour variations. Emblematic of her work is the flexible metal and springy wire obtained by means of hammering and twisting techniques. She often incorporates white enamel into her pieces, complimenting the gold surface of the metal. She is drawn to the concept of movement and transformation, and likes the idea that nothing ever stays the same. A necklace can become a bracelet, an earring can become a brooch, a ring can become a bracelet. There is a primordial nature in her work conveyed by the matt finish, texture and colour of her pieces. She is mainly drawn to circles, but these are usually irregular in shape and never perfectly round. All these elements convey jewellery that is contemporary in its approach, yet reaches back in time and makes reference to the past.

Ring, untitled 2004, gold
Neckpiece, untitled 2006, gold, enamel