In designing their year-old jewelry collection, Anndra Neen, half sisters Phoebe and Annette Stephens (left) don’t have to look far for inspiration: Their father, Luis Stephens (above right), is a painter and sculptor, while their late grandmother Annette Nancarrow (above center, with Diego Rivera) was a sculptor and jewelry designer whose pieces were worn by Frida Kahlo, Peggy Guggenheim, and Helena Rubinstein. Together with her husband, avant-garde composer Conlon Nancarrow, she presided over a Mexico City salon in the Thirties and Forties that included Kahlo, Rivera, and Anaïs Nin. “She was a trailblazer,” says Annette. “Her approach to life was that she dared to be different.” To celebrate the family tradition of artistic innovation, the siblings, along with gallerist Melissa Bent, are curating “Three Generations of Art, Sculpture and Jewelry,” a multimedia show opening February 2 at Mexican hotelier Carlos Couturier’s new Hotel Americano in New York. In addition to Anndra Neen jewelry, the exhibition will feature Nancarrow’s sculpture and jewelry and Luis Stephens’s art. “As a family, we’re really involved in each other’s work,” explains Phoebe. “The first time we showed our father our designs, he said they reminded him of our grandmother’s pieces. To see this come together is amazing.”
Photos: Courtesy Of Anndra Neen