April 2025, Part 2
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.
FEEL LIKE SEEING A JEWELRY SHOW?
Find listings from around the world on our dedicated exhibition page.
EVENTS
We have a dedicated page for them. Go here to see the list.
FROM OUR MEMBERS
THE SUSAN BEECH BOOK, FEAST, IS DELICIOUS
The publication looks at Beech’s home and her collection. It is available now and will soon be in AJF’s hands for distribution. It’s a truly beautiful book, and if you attended the AJF dinner in Munich you know, because you got an advance copy. Susan Cummins has been working on the book for the past couple of years and is happy with it.
BUT WHAT WAS GAINED, AT OMBRÉ GALLERY APRIL 25–MAY 31, 2025
Caressa Layne’s interdisciplinary works explore the foundational narrative of the story of Eve and the apple. The story has become synonymous with temptation and the Fall, but can it instead be interpreted as the origin of free will? Is change always a bad thing? This body of jewelry taps into themes of agency, femininity, and potential. Paradise was lost … but what was gained? More.
GALERIE MARZEE IN THE FINANCIAL TIMES
For more than 40 years, the gallery in the Netherlands has shaped the market and acted as a repository for remarkable pieces. At the age of 83, the gallerist Marie-José van den Hout’s enthusiasm and passion for what she does remains undimmed. More.
DRIFTERS, AT GALERIE NOEL GUYOMARC’H THROUGH APRIL 26, 2025
Steven KP’s carved and cast works are known for their lyrical qualities that can be read as metaphors and embodiments of lived queer experiences. By using hand tools and a jeweler’s bench, their carved and entangled gestural forms are rendered with care in response to the embedded wounds, scars, and growth marks of the material block in a consciously slow and reciprocal practice. More.
MELANIE GEORGACOPOULOS IN THE NEW YORK TIMES
Quahog shells, treasured in the past by Native Americans, now appear with gold, mother-of-pearl, and onyx in the Greek jeweler’s works. More.
GALERIE DOOR AT KUNST RAI APRIL 30–MAY 4, 2025
Galerie Door will present a selection of the latest, most beautiful and intriguing work by the artists it represents. You’ll find Galerie Door at booth 69. To receive an admission ticket for this fair, send a message to info@galeriedoor.nl.
CALL FOR ENTRY: BJC GRADUATE SHOW
Since 2014, the Baltimore Jewelry Center has supported the contemporary jewelry and metals field through exhibitions and programming. Its second annual Graduate Show will highlight emerging jewelers and metalsmiths completing their formal education. This exhibition showcases recent graduates’ work, acting as both archive and spotlight for the field’s evolving voice. Applicants must have graduated in Fall 2024 or Spring 2025 with a BFA, MFA, or Certificate. Submitted work must have been created between 2023–2025 and be wearable or small sculpture (no larger than 12” in any dimension). Deadline: May 25, 2025. Info.
CALL FOR ENTRIES FOR RAM’S AWAKENING THE SENSES
While traditional museum etiquette expects visitors to observe from a distance, the Racine Art Museum’s 2025 community art show invites guests to break from convention by interacting with the art directly. Activating the senses beyond sight alone, museum-goers will make emotional—and physical—connections by getting up close and personal with pieces, exploring the galleries by feeling, trying on, adding to or subtracting from, listening to, or smelling works specifically created to awaken the senses. Artists are invited to submit work that promotes engagement in unexpected or unconventional ways. Deadline: May 17, 2025. Info.
CALL FOR ENTRY: JELO6 PROJECT
Are you a jewelry artist, ceramist, or creator of small sculptures? Showcase your talent at Nicosia, November 12–16, 2025! This is a great opportunity to present your work and connect with fellow artisans and art enthusiasts. Organized by Jelo6 Project Cyprus under the auspices of the Municipality of Nicosia, this event promises to be a vibrant celebration of contemporary art and craftsmanship. More.
MAD ABOUT JEWELRY 2025 MAY 3–7, 2025
The Museum of Arts and Design’s annual benefit awards and sale of contemporary jewelry celebrates its 25th year. This year’s milestone edition showcases extraordinary designs from 50 emerging and acclaimed international jewelry artists. The ultimate contemporary jewelry pop-up will offer collectors and jewelry enthusiasts the rare opportunity to meet and acquire pieces from the most innovative creators in the field. More.
APPLY FOR THE SUMMER EDITION OF DISCOVER
It’s a platform for jewelers and jewelry brands to increase visibility and showcase their work to the global audience of NYC Jewelry Week. This season’s edition will be curated by Georgina Treviño, the contemporary artist and jeweler from Tijuana, Mexico, who’s based in San Diego, CA. Deadline: May 31, 2025. More.
A JEWELRY COMPETITION FOR VERY YOUNG DESIGNERS
Racine Art Museum has teamed with Rasmussen Diamonds for a contest that celebrates the artistic power of jewelry. Artists ages 5–18 can let their imagination come to life in sterling silver, dazzling diamonds, and vibrant gemstones. Three winning designs will be turned into real jewelry by an expert goldsmith and auctioned in October to support the charity of the winner’s choice. Deadline: April 27, 2025. More.
JEWELERS EMBRACE TEXTILES TO KEEP ANCIENT CULTURAL TIES ALIVE
Hand weaving, the use of beads, and nonprecious metals are among the traditional crafts that add another dimension to contemporary pieces, writes Caroline Palmer in the Financial Times. More.
NOTES: KAJSA LINDBERG, AT PLATINA APRIL 26–MAY 15, 2025
Everyday objects such as receipts, notes, instructional drawings, manuals, and rulers, form a kind of working archive in Lindberg’s studio. Sorted, reshaped, and reassigned, they become integral elements in jewelry and art objects. More.
OTHER NEWS
CORNELIE HOLZACH TO LEAVE SCHMUCKMUSEUM PFORZHEIM
The museum’s long-time director retires this month. She will be succeeded by Friederike Zobel. She came to the museum in 1997 and worked for many years with the previous director, Fritz Falk, before taking over as director in 2005. During her almost 30 years at the Jewelry Museum, Holzach curated or staged numerous thematically diverse exhibitions, whether historical, contemporary, ethnographic, or contemporary history, and across disciplines. Since 1997, the jewelry expert has continuously expanded the permanent collection, from historical to the present day with contemporary jewelry. More.
TOP BKV PRIZES GO TO JEWELERS
Guja Youssefi (Germany) won the blue ribbon, and Lara Solia Barenboim (Argentina) took second place. Congrats! Youssefi’s works initially appear simple but reveal great depth. Their expressiveness engage the onlooker. Did our counterpart just wink at us? Does it want to let us in on a secret? Barenboim, meanwhile, titles her works Lengua, which means both tongue and language in Spanish. The wearable objects, in the form of large tongues that can be attached to clothes, are a visual symbol of acoustic inter-personal communication.
IN PROGRESS: THE RING SMACKDOWN
April 14–30, 32 rings once again compete head-to-head for the title champion of the Battle of the Rings, in a competition open to students, hobbyists, and professionals. To check things out and vote, go here.
GOLD PRICES SOAR TO RECORD HIGH
The metal was selling at over $3,200 per ounce earlier this month as a faltering dollar and an escalating U.S.-China trade war stirred fears of recession, sending investors flocking to what is seen as a safe asset.
MARIANNA SIMNETT IMAGINES WORLDS FILLED WITH UNTAMED THOUGHTS
Named for powerful female figures from ancient lore, like Discordia, the Greek goddess of strife, or Lilith, a she-demon, Simnett’s Crowns, featuring tiny cast mammals and birds, examine the power, ferocity, and sublimity of allegorical female figures. Simnett illuminates the role of women in myth and legend. More.
EVENTS
AUTOR TAKES PLACE MAY 10–11, 2025
Unirea Shopping Center, in Bucharest, Romania, will transform into the epicenter of contemporary jewelry, hosting the 22nd edition of the international contemporary jewelry fair. This event brings together jewelry designers from across the globe, passionate collectors, and an informed audience—all within a space dedicated to artistic expression and design innovation. More.
OPPORTUNITIES
SNAG IS HIRING A COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST
This remote, part-time position works collaboratively with the SNAG Team, but the position is self-directed. The Communications Specialist is responsible for maintaining and initiating public-facing communications and content strategy for the organization and facilitating administrative communication. More info here.
WRITER’S GRANTS UP TO $50,000
The Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant supports emerging and established writers who write about contemporary visual art. Ranging from $15,000 to $50,000 in three categories—articles, books, and short-form writing—the grants support projects from short reviews for magazines and newspapers to in-depth scholarly studies. Deadline: May 7, 2025. Info.
CALL FOR ENTRIES: ITAMI INTERNATIONAL JEWELLERY EXHIBITION
This exhibition, at the Itami City Museum of Art, History and Culture, in Japan, is open to jewelry works with no restriction on materials. Deadline: July 25, 2025. Info.
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