Magnificent Emeralds: Fura’s Tears

Internationally renowned for building one-of-a-kind collections for many of the world’s most influential collectors, Wilensky is uniquely able to curate and elevate an emerald show of this caliber.

If art is an expression of beauty, then the exquisite minerals at the Wilensky gallery are the highest form of aesthetic that nature has to offer. This fall, set in their Chelsea gallery, Wilensky will exhibit the greatest collection of emerald mineral specimens ever assembled. This breathtaking exhibition will embrace the undeniable transformative power that emeralds hold on the human imagination. “Magnificent Emeralds: Fura’s Tears” will open on Thursday, September 26th and run through Monday, December 30th, 2019.

“This exhibition is focused on natural emeralds, as found and preserved in specimen and crystal form. By bringing together many of the world’s finest known examples of natural emerald specimens, we can better understand all emerald specimens. Important emerald stones and jewelry can be found in every gem collection around the world. The same cannot be said about exceptional natural emerald specimens. We estimate that there are less than twenty-five in the world that would qualify. Of those twenty-five, half of them are here on exhibit,” says Stuart Wilensky, President of Wilensky.

The significance of having half of the world’s finest known emerald specimens all in one place cannot be overstated. This has never happened in the history of mineral collecting. Wilensky invites the viewer to experience wonder and emotionally connect to the profoundly exquisite qualities of emerald specimens.

Connecting to the mythological tale of Fura and Tena, from the now extinct Muzos indigenous people of the Colombian Andes, the exhibition narrates emeralds through their creation story, where the tears of Fura’s infidelity begot the beloved green rocks. The seductive connection between nature, beauty, legend and art are explored through the mesmerizing green of the specimen