Cosmic 1970s Art Jewellery by Alex & Lee

About

Alex Maté and Lee Brooks met and fell in love in Central Park in 1970.  Working together, and painstakingly combining materials including stones, shells, lobster claws, feathers, resin and even monkey fur, and often incorporating intricately braided and knotted strands of hand-dyed and hand-woven multi-hued silk cord (a technique known as Passementerie), they transformed found objects into unique mystical talismans.

 Through their adoption by the swinging boho-glitterati of America and Europe, including Erté, Grace Slick, Cher, Elton John, Joan Baez, Bianca Jagger, Vincent Price, Liza Minnelli, Omar Sharif and famously, Salvador Dali, whose museum still houses several of their pieces, and in working on collections with fashion designers Giorgio di Sant'Angelo, Geoffrey Beene and Oscar De La Renta, with periods based in San Francisco, Spain and New York, until Alex’s sad death in the early 1990s, Alex & Lee jewellery became known for its fantasy, exoticism and animist spirituality.    321 Portobello are lucky enough to get hold of several pieces including neckwear, bracelets and earrings which will be part of a selling exhibition in September 2024.        

Opening hours Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm except Sunday 11am to 4pm.

The last word is from Alex & Lee, 1974 – ‘within the meditation of love and peace lies our inspiration for creation….we view our jewellery as devotional talismans to adorn the temple of the body.   Our collaboration leads to the mystical reunion of at-one-ment.’    Far…as they used to and still should say…Out.