Since its inception in the mid-twentieth century, art jewelry has been defined by limited hand production in an artistic studio-practice paradigm. However, in the 1980s, advances in computer-aided design and manufacturing technologies led to the expansion of this definition, rendering the studio and hand manufacturing useful characterizations rather than steadfast criteria for defining art jewelry. […]
The second book by English publishers Black Dog to take stock of contemporary jewelry practice in the new millennium. The geographical spread is not too bad and the jewelry itself is nicely introduced with short texts (by Beccy and Indigo Clark) and a judicious use of object-only and contextual photography. Amy Sackville’s introduction sets the
New Directions in Jewellery II Read More »
The first of two books by Black Dog which survey contemporary jewelry in the new millennium, this publication sets the scene by introducing contemporary jewelry as a practice which tests the limits of jewelry through a substantial flirtation with fine art. It’s a somewhat boring premise, but it does accurately describe what a lot of
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Based on Helen Drutt’s comprehensive collection of contemporary jewelry (now in the Houston Museum of Fine Arts) this book is a strong introduction to the history and practice of contemporary jewelry. Peter Dormer writes the critical chapters, which are intelligent and historically minded, offering insights into the issues that individual jewelers tackle in their work,
Jewelry of Our Time: Art, Ornament and Obsession Read More »
This book is not only a good introduction to the work of a number of important contemporary jewelers, but also attempts to develop a kind of history of contemporary jewelry that is still relatively rare. In detailing a face-off between the United States and Europe (Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy) Turner does a credible
Jewelry in Europe and America: New Times, New Thinking Read More »
An interesting book that seeks to survey contemporary (or as the authors call it, studio) jewelry in the 1990s and to provide some interpretative frameworks for understanding the practice. The discussions of individual jewelers are somewhat frustrating because of a lack of specifics and a tendency to rely on generalizations, but Amanda Game and Elizabeth
Jewellery Moves: Ornament for the 21st Century Read More »
Conceived, according to the author Roberta Bernabei, as a research tool for those interested in contemporary jewelry, this book wears its textbook origins proudly: an introduction, brief conclusion and resource appendix accompany 25 interviews with European jewelers, illustrated by black and white images and a modest color section. Some of the interviews are better than
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As much a work of publishing art as a retrospective of Karl Fritsch’s jewelry, this book is the perfect introduction to the sheer plethora and spectacle of Fritsch’s cunning combination of the most reactionary and most revolutionary elements of contemporary jewelry. The texts, by various luminaries of the contemporary jewelry scene, are not translated into
Karl Fritsch: Metrosideros Robusta Read More »
While there is no denying the sheer variety of contemporary jewelry on display in this book (color images of 552 pieces of jewelry by 193 artists from fourteen countries) Dona Z Meilach doesn’t do much to lift the book beyond its origins in a call for submissions in which anyone could participate. Grouped by themes,
A comprehensive catalog of the contemporary jewelry collection of the Schmuckmuseum in Pforzheim, this book, by Fritz Falk and Cornelie Holzach (who have both worked at the museum) is also a substantial introduction to the development of contemporary jewellery in Europe and, less comprehensively, the rest of the world. Falk and Holzach offer pithy surveys
Schmuck der Moderne/Modern Jewellery 1960-1998 Read More »
TarraWarra Museum of Art is situated a short drive from Melbourne. Located in a landscape of rolling hills that juxtapose manicured vineyards with paddocks of dry grass and stands of aromatic gum trees, this impressive museum is home to the considerable collection of modern art donated, along with the building, to the people of Australia
Returning to the Jewel is a Return From Exile Read More »
