September 2024, Part 1

Art Jewelry Forum is pleased to share the news that members of our community find noteworthy. Is something missing? The success of this compilation of compelling events, news, and items of interest to the jewelry community depends on YOUR participation. If you’re a member of AJF at the Silver level or above, you can add news and ideas to this bi-monthly report by going here. If you aren’t a member, but would like to become one, join AJF here.
Listings gathered with assistance from Carrie Yodanis.

WATCH THE RECORDING OF “AJF LIVE WITH MARTA COSTA REIS, PATRICIA DOMINGUES AND MÒNICA GASPAR”
If you missed the event, don’t fret: we recorded it. Watch it here.

EVENTS
We have a dedicated page for them. Go here to see the list.

FEEL LIKE SEEING A JEWELRY SHOW?
Find these listings and many, many more on our dedicated exhibition page:

• Zu design & Jane Bowden, at JamFactory through September 15
• Bettina Speckner: American Diary, at Sienna Patti through September 29
• 2024 Graduate Exhibition, at BJC through October 6
• Serious Fun, at Gravers Lane Gallery through October 15
• Bracelets, Bangles and Cuffs, at the Metal Museum through November 17
• Joyce J. Scott: Messages, at the Flint Institute of Arts through December 1

FROM OUR MEMBERS

FINAL TWO WEEKS: A COLLECTOR’S JOURNEY: SUSAN GRANT LEWIN AND THE ART JEWELRY WORLD 
Susan Grant Lewin traces her passion for art jewelry back to her work in the 1980s and 90s as a journalist and communications executive. Although not the only exhibition to feature the preeminent collector’s impressive holdings, this is the first to survey her four-decade commitment to this phenomenon. At the Lowe Art Museum, Coral Gables, FL, through September 14, 2024. Info.

OUTPOURING OF REMEMBRANCES FOR SHARON BERMAN
Many outlets have posted about the passionate lover of jewelry and host of The Jewelry Journey podcast since her passing on August 16, 2024. See remembrances from the company she founded, Berbay Marketing, here. JCK’s remembrance is here. SNAG’s is here.

PAT FLYNN TRUNK SHOW: SEPTEMBER 13–14, 2024
For two days only—10:30–6:30 on Friday and 10:30–6:00 on Saturday—the critically acclaimed artist Pat Flynn will be at Pistachios Contemporary Art Jewelry with an exclusive collection of his work! Get insight on his techniques by chatting with the artist in-person. Come enjoy a glass of champagne and collect your next future heirloom. Flynn is a goldsmith who lives and works in High Falls, NY. His iconic nail bracelets combine blackened iron with 22- and 18-karat yellow gold, 18-karat palladium white gold, diamonds, and pearls. Each piece of jewelry is hand-forged, oftentimes incorporating fused 22-karat gold onto the iron. Flynn applies subtle texture by working the surface with varying tools and techniques. This attention to detail, technical control, and combination of disparate materials creates unparalleled elegance. His work has been featured in Metalsmith and included in The Penland Book of Jewelry. It is in the collections of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institute, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Arts and Design, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. More.

KHANYA MTHETHWA HAS TWO SHOWS IN THE WORKS
The first, a solo exhibition at the University of Johannesburg’s Art Gallery, will run February 13–May 9, 2025, and showcase Mthethwa’s project as winner of the 2023 Susan Beech Mid-Career Grant. The works will draw inspiration from archived beaded pieces representing various South African ethnic groups, sourced from the WITS Arts Museum. The show will feature jewelry pieces, photography, 3D-printed ceramic vases, fashion items, and performance art. The University of the Witwatersrand will also be collaborating. The second exhibition, an extension of the UJ showcase, will be at Nirox Sculpture Park March 29–May 5, 2025. It will feature eight to 10 designers collaborating with Mthethwa to highlight how indigenous knowledge influences contemporary design. Keep up with Mthethwa’s activities on IG, here.

FROM THE GARDEN, FROM THE GRAVE, AT PISTACHIOS THROUGH NOVEMBER 10, 2024
Challenging the notion that death can only be melancholy, the work in this show includes imagery of plant life and animals in all stages. On one hand, we have blossoming flowers, flying birds, and lively insects. On the other is the macabre, with imagery that confronts death. Death is multi-faceted. It can be poetic, beautiful, even sublime, and, at the same time, bleak and depressing. More.

THE TECHNICOLOR WORLD OF RACHELLE THIEWES, AT MOBILIA THROUGH OCTOBER 1, 2024
The exhibition presents Thiewes’s work in all its light and color while also exploring the progression in her shimmering sculptural jewelry. “I use specialty auto paints primarily found on low-rider and show cars,” she states. “Few companies in the world produce these highly specialized and costly paints. The paints vary and can produce color shifts, pearl effects, and deep luminosity, all with exciting possibilities, particularly when on a moving body.” More.

LEGNICA JEWELLERY FESTIVAL SILVER ANNOUNCES 2025 THEME
The theme of the 33rd edition of the international jewelry competition will be “WOW Effect!” The call for entries opens October 1, 2024, and will last until January. The competition, which will take place May 9–10, 2025, will be the main event of the festival in Poland. More.

WEARING THE RED TRAVELS TO OMBRÉ GALLERY
The group exhibition, curated by Charon Kransen, features 60+ jewelry artists investigating the significance of the color red across different cultures. Through October 20, 2024. More.

OPEN CALL: PISTACHIOS & PRECIOUS COLLECTIVE JURIED EXHIBITION
The exhibition will take place at Pistachios August 14–October 26, 2025, then travel to Munich Jewelry Week in March 2026. Concept: What is a tangible manifestation for the things unsaid? How can we extend the voice of materiality through acts of making? Where does the metaphysical influence the language of jewelry? The duality and texture of storytelling through and with jewelry is sometimes a transitional state that is not fully understood, nor needs to be in many cases. Deadline: September 15, 2024. More info.

THE OBJECT & JEWELLERY DEPARTMENT OF PXL-MAD SCHOOL OF ARTS HASSELT TURNS 30!
Join PXL-MAD’s Object & Jewellery department as it celebrates with an exhibition showcasing work by alumni, researchers, and tutors. Participating artists: Berit Baens, Julia Boix-Vives, Sofie Boons, Nelle Brackeva, Jana Brevick, Willemien Bruwer, Liesbet Bussche, Laila Marie Costa, Lize Myttenaere, Patricia Domingues, Nedda El-Asmar, Gésine Hackenberg, Juan Harnie, Claudia Hoppe, David Huycke, Lars Joosten, Hannah Joris, Jeannette Knigge, Maria Konschake, Machteld Lambeets, Lore Langendries, Meeree Lee, Into Niilo, Kitty & Audi Pauwels – Spaenjers, Anneleen Swillen, Felien Tytgat, Jasmijn Van Hoof, Charlotte Vanhoubroeck, Madeli Viljoen, Karen Wuytens. September 10, 12–5 p.m; September 12, 10 a.m.–7 p.m.; September 15, 2–5 p.m. (finissage in the presence of the artists), at PXL-MAD School of Arts, Gouverneur Verwilghensingel 3, 3500 Hasselt building G, AudiTorium (ground floor). More info.

PASSINGS

ARLINE FISCH DIED ONE DAY BEFORE HER 93RD BIRTHDAY
The maker and educator was especially known for bringing textile techniques into her metalwork. Fisch was one of the founders of SNAG. She started the jewelry and metalsmithing program at San Diego State University, and taught there from 1961 to 2000. More.

LES LEPERE DIED, HE WAS 78
In 1964, while studying at Washington State University, he met fellow art student Ken Cory. Adopting the moniker “Pencil Brothers,” they collaborated on champlevé enamel and pencil drawings, producing pins, belt buckles, and necklaces, among other items. They also organized elaborate art-related capers. Lepere went on to illustrate posters, pamphlets, and book covers, including Still Life with Woodpecker, by Tom Robbins. More.

OTHER NEWS

TANEL VEENRE CREATED JEWELRY FOR ESTONIA’S FIRST LADY
He used oak left over from his flooring and reconstructed turquoise to create a set of bangle and earrings for Sirje Karis. More.

ALEXANDER BLANK: KUMPANE—SEPTEMBER 15, 2024–FEBRUARY 27, 2025
His first overview exhibition since winning the 10th Stadtgoldschmied (City Goldsmith) award of Hanau. At the Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus, in Hanau, Germany. More.

RECENTLY FOUND DIAMOND MAY BE SECOND LARGEST EVER DISCOVERED
A 2,492-carat gem-quality raw diamond was unearthed in Botswana’s Karowe diamond mine. The largest gem-quality diamond ever found, the Cullinan diamond, weighed 3,106 carats and was mined in South Africa in 1905. More.

EVENTS

ROCK THE JEWELS: NOVEMBER 21, 2024
A jubilant celebration of the Black In Jewelry Coalition’s accomplishments over the past four years, presented in partnership with New York City Jewelry Week. Will feature industry awards, jewelry exhibits and networking opportunities. At Elsie Rooftop, in NYC., 6–10 p.m. Info, tickets.

OPPORTUNITIES

CALL FOR ENTRIES: IX CONTEMPORARY GOLDSMITHING EXHIBITION
Goal: the international diffusion and promotion of contemporary goldsmithing and jewelry design. This show, presented by AdOC, will take place at the Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas of Madrid within the Madrid Design Festival, simultaneously with the Semana del Arte-ARCO. Deadline: October 2, 2024. Info.

OPEN CALL: ALLIAGES ART JEWELRY
Theme: “Shining despair.” We all suffer. We try to rid ourselves of it, with limited success. But jewelry artists have a unique opportunity to transform the suffering by creating luminous objects—giving birth to shining jewelry pieces, with all their beauty and grace, silent witnesses to our despair. Exhibition to be held in 2025 at Schmuck, Munich. Deadline: October 27, 2024. More.

SNAG NOW ACCEPTING IMPACT AWARDS NOMINATIONS
The awards celebrate practicing artists making meaningful contributions to jewelry and metalsmithing. They are presented to two practitioners whose work demonstrates significant impact in the areas of socially responsible practice, sustainability, technical innovation, and/or creative innovation. Win $3,000 and other goodies. Deadline: October 31, 2024. Info.

OPEN CALL FROM ILIAS LALAOUNIS JEWELRY MUSEUM
Theme: “Gates of Transition.” This international exhibition of contemporary brooches and microsculptures made from sustainable materials is open to all artists and craftspeople working in studio jewelry, and decorative and visual arts. Deadline: November 15, 2024. Info.

OPEN CALL: SNAG EXHIBITION
Theme: “Scrumptious: Jewelry as Nourishment.” Jewelry satiates a primal hunger, offering a dazzling treat for our eyes and a recipe for sumptuous self-expression. The exhibition will play on our craving for beauty, indulgence, and sustenance. It will feature jewelry that entices the viewer and seduces the wearer through a feast of decadent materials, delicious surfaces, and luscious, juicy colors. Submissions will be considered for three exhibition platforms: in-person at New York City Jewelry Week; in Metalsmith Vol 44 No 3; and online. Deadline: September 16, 2024. Info.

CENTER FOR CRAFT 2025 CRAFT RESEARCH FUND
Provides grants up to $15,000 to support new and interdisciplinary research about craft in the US. Deadline: October 4, 2024. More.

PAGES

ATTAI CHEN: ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE
Edited by Carina Shoshtary, this book gives insight into the oeuvre of the Israeli artist Attai Chen (1979–2023). Four jewelry series take a poetic look at the perpetual becoming and passing of life and of things, reflecting the complexity of these existential themes—at times with humor, at others with foreboding. “I was always fascinated by the endless cyclical flow of things,” said the artist in 2022, “be they in nature or in the man-made world; the movement of growth aimed at the fleeting moment of its realization, the consummation of this moment, followed by decay and finally a new beginning.” This book, with contributions from Glenn Adamson and Gallery Loupe, will release in November. It’s one of AJF’s Fiscal Sponsorship projects. More.

PRECIOUS: THE HISTORY AND MYSTERY OF GEMS ACROSS TIME
The renowned jewelry expert Helen Molesworth recounts her career working with nature’s most extraordinary treasures—gemstones—and traces these rare jewels from ancient Egyptian records through the high-stakes auctions of today. More.

SWEET TALKER MAKE ME BELIEVE
A visual collage, by Leonor Hipolito, its 28 pages assemble photography and illustration. In parallel with the publication, and following the same idea—the same gesture—the maker created four necklaces and a pin. More.

PHARMAKOS
Vivi Touloumidi investigates adornment as an active agent to address social discomfort, repression, and marginalization in the public realm. Her project appropriates and subverts signs of stigmatization employed during WWII, and, through in-depth research, proposes new statement pieces that speak of resilience, emancipation, and self-determination of the social body. More.

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