Who doesn’t love a good egg hunt — especially when it is presented by jeweled egg maker Fabergé?
Not that they’ll be hard to find. Come April 1, more than 250 egg sculptures — each one uniquely designed by a designer, artist or architect, constructed of fiberglass, and standing 30 inches tall and 22 inches wide — will be placed around New York’s five boroughs for the finding.
Among those already commissioned are artists like Enoch Perez— whose sketch of a half-open egg sculpture resembles a champagne fountain — and Curtis Kulig, ceramicist Emma Clegg— who translated her signature porcelain floral designs onto her gorgeous egg — and architect Zaha Hadid.
Meanwhile, representing the fashion community so far are designers such as Marchesa— proffering a silver floral motif named ‘The Rose Palace’, after the Paris residence of the brand’s muse, Marchesa Luisa Casati, Carolina Herrera, Cynthia Rowley, DKNY, Diane von Furstenberg, Olivier Theyskens, Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger.
Jessica Lowe, creative director of The Fabergé Big Egg Hunt, told Blouin Artinfo that bringing the broadest range of creative talent to the initiative was paramount. “A key priority in our curation is diversity. We invite artists from across the spectrum to submit a design, and we work with those that are the most original in their thinking,” she said.
It was philanthropist Mark Shand who hatched the idea for the inaugural egg hunt in London in 2012, as a fund-raising campaign for his charity Elephant Family, which raises funds for the conservation of the Asian elephant’s environment, as well as Action for Children, which supports neglected children. Fabergé signed on for sponsorship of the initiative, which over the course of 40 days raised more than $1.5 million for the charities, as well as broke two Guinness World Records: most entrants in an egg hunt competition (12,773 participants in total) and most expensive chocolate egg.
This year, egg hunters each stand to win an original Fabergé egg. Select eggs sculptures will be auctioned off at Sotheby’s following the event’s conclusion on April 26. Proceeds will once again benefit Elephant Family, as well as Studio in a School, a New York-based charity that brings professional artists into schools and community organizations.
“Philanthropy is at the heart of the ethos of Fabergé. Our aim to nurture creative talent and support innovative projects,” said the brand’s creative and managing director, Katharina Flohr.
A number of completed eggs were unveiled during a private event in New York on January 28, including those by Bellerby Globes, Jane Morgan, Nathalie Priem, Trystan Bates, Frank Hyder, Eric Cahan, Franck, Paul Wirhun, Jason Woodside as well as artist Shantell Martin, who created her egg live throughout the evening.
To preview some of these egg-cellent designs, click on the slideshow.
