Roberta Bernabei

Roberta Bernabei was born in Italy in 1968 and now lives and works in the UK. She studied at the Istituto Statale d'Arte, Sansepolcro and later graduated in sculpture at the Accademia di Belle Arti, Perugia, Italy. She then moved on to the Fachhochschule für Gestaltung, Schwäbisch-Gmünd, Germany. Finally, she obtained an MA in Metalwork and Jewellery at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. She has obtained the following awards and grants: Premio Moreno Ballerini, Sansepolcro, S.Eligio, Arezzo - III Mostra del Corallo, Torre del Greco, Italy - EC Scholarship - Armours and Brasiers Award, Sheffield, UK - Pangolin Editions casting prize - Travel Grant, The Association for Contemporary Jewellery, UK. She has been Lecturer at Le Arti Orafe, Florence, Visiting Lecturer, Metalwork and Jewellery, Sheffield Hallam University, Visiting Lecturer, Metalwork and Jewellery, De Montfort University, Leicester and is currently Lecturer, Silversmithing and Jewellery at Loughborough University. Upon observing Roberta Bernabei's jewellery, one is immediately aware of the fact that its "contents" go beyond mere adornment. Space, absence, presence, the human body: all key words in Bernabei's art. The concept of making space tangible has been one of her main areas of research since the year 2000. This theory has developed into a concept of space surrounding the human body. In more recent times it has further evolved and directed Bernabei to study the concept of space in other cultures and to broaden her definition of space.