Articles

United States

07/11/2022

AJF’s 2022 Trip to San Francisco

June 24–26, 2022

By Bill Baker

Click on the photos to find out what they show.

Art Jewelry Forum went to the Bay Area of California for its first post-COVID trip. Yvonne Montoya, the organization’s executive director, had planned a full and exciting itinerary of gallery visits, museum openings, exhibitions, and of course good food and conversation. | San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge in the distance, as seen from Susan Beech’s house, photo: Yvonne Montoya

Day 1: Friday, June 24, 2022. On the first day we arrived at the Museum of Craft and Design for the opening of the Iris Eichenberg jewelry exhibition, Iris Eichenberg: Where Words Fail. Iris is the winner of AJF’s Susan Beech Mid-Career Artist Grant. | Exhibition view of Iris Eichenberg: Where Words Fail on the night of the opening, photo: Yvonne Montoya

Iris was present to explain the body of work on display. Iris is the artist-in-residence and head of metalsmithing at Cranbrook Art Academy, in Michigan. | Iris Eichenberg, in black, talks about her work, photo: Yvonne Montoy

Iris’s work has been exhibited internationally in numerous one-person and group exhibitions and is included in museums both in the United States and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Iris explained that her work is a reflection of her life experiences, as well as thought-provoking. | Iris Eichenberg, Wolleherzen (Wool Hearts), 1993–2007, brooches/installation), wool, photo: Yvonne Montoya

In many of the works Iris combines materials that best suit an idea in order to engage the viewer in conversation. | (Left to right) Marion Fulk and Rebekah Frank stand in front of Iris Eichenberg’s Kein Ort Nirgends (No Place Anywhere) at the opening of Iris Eichenberg: Where Words Fail, photo: Yvonne Montoya

Iris Eichenberg, Object from the “X” series, 2013, wood, nails, wool, photo: Yvonne Montoya

Iris embraces such topics as gender identity, equality, and the continual search for a safe environment. | Iris Eichenberg, Girlfriends from the “Blossom” series (Object), 1998, wood, wool, found objects, hair, dental material, photo: Yvonne Montoya

Iris Eichenberg hugs Davira Taragin, the curator of Iris Eichenberg: Where Words Fail, photo: Yvonne Montoya

Emily Schuster-Gurtman, Gail Hufjay, Edie Nadler, Susan Beech, Stefan Friedemann (the owner of Ornamentum Gallery), and Marion Fulkin at Iris Eichenberg: Where Words Fail, photo: Yvonne Montoya

From the museum we walked to lunch at Gilberth’s Latin Fusion restaurant. The meal was served family style and we all engaged in spirited conversations while enjoying the Latin fare. After lunch we were off for studio visits to four artists. Our first stop was the studio of Rebekah Frank. | Rebekah Frank, in black, presents her work, photo: Yvonne Montoya

Rebekah works with steel and steel wire to make jewelry that can be worn in multiple ways depending on the mood of the wearer. | Work by Rebekah Frank mounted on a wall, photo: Yvonne Montoya

Artist Tom Hill was at the studio with a display of his well-known animal sculptures. Tom shares the studio with Rebekah and also works with steel wire. | Tom Hill speaking about his work, photo: Yvonne Montoya

A rooster sculpture executed by Tom Hill, photo: Yvonne Montoya

The next stop was Julia Turner, who has a fabulous space above the San Francisco location of Heath Ceramics. | An area of Julia Turner’s studio. She hangs pieces in her collection from hooks when she’s not wearing them, photo: Yvonne Montoya

Along with creating her own work, Julia collaborates with Heath Ceramics on ideas for colors and designs of their future products. | Julia Turner, at far right, presents her work to AJF trip attendees, photo: Yvonne Montoya

Julia’s art jewelry is primarily in painted wood shaped in a variety of forms. | Work by Julia Turner, photo: Bill Baker

emiko oye was our next visit. emiko is known for her colorful and imaginative use of Legos to make art jewelry. | emiko oye in her studio giving a presentation to the AJF trip attendees, photo: Yvonne Montoya

emiko’s pieces can be as small as cufflinks made from Lego car tires to large sculptural necklaces reminiscent of some far-off ancient kingdom. emiko’s pieces always elicit a smile. | Yvonne Montoya and Bonnie Levine try on jewelry by emiko oye, photo: Bill Baker

Linda Shostack, Ann Hedges, Edie Nadler, Susan Beech, and Francine Baker in emiko oye’s studio, photo: Yvonne Montoya

Sandra Enterline was our final stop for the day. She has a large studio and a spacious work space with a plethora of tools and equipment. Sandra is a well-known and award-winning contemporary art jeweler. | Sandra Enterline, at far right, talks about her work as the trip attendees look on. (Left to right) Bonnie Levine, Ann Hedges (looking away), Gail Hufjay, Edie Nadler, Emily Schuster-Gurtman, and Susan Beech, photo: Yvonne Montoya

Sandra works with steel, precious gemstones, and other materials to create her unique style, which has an elegance and is pleasing to wear. | AJF trip attendees in Sandra Enterline’s studio, photo: Bill Baker

Day 2: Saturday, June 25, 2022. Our morning adventure was to the Legion of Honor and the Guo Pei exhibition. Guo Pei is a world-famous couture designer who incorporates her Chinese traditions with Western influence. | Work by Guo Pei, photo: Bill Baker

Her detailed embroidered clothing is simply breathtaking. Guo Pei and her team have developed their own style, design, and techniques from Chinese embroidery with Indian, Russian, and European stitches. Guo Pei employs over 450 people, most of whom are embroiderers. | Work by Guo Pei, photo: Bill Baker

The exhibition consists of several rooms. Mannequins in elegant outfits represent a variety of themes from traditional to contemporary and exotic. Several selected Guo Pei mannequins were strategically placed among the permanent painting collections of the museum. | Work by Guo Pei, photo: Bill Baker

From the Legion of Honor we went for lunch at Evvia Estiatorio, a Mediterranean restaurant in Palo Alto. We sat at a community table and shared a sumptuous selection of dishes all set in a festive environment. After lunch we took a short walk to de novo, an AJF member gallery owned by Cherry LeBrun. de novo presents an array of contemporary jewelry. The trip attendees enjoyed seeing work by Karen Gilbert, Ford/Forlano, Joan Parcher, and many others. de novo has been representing jewelry artists for over 30 years and Cherry is knowledgeable about the artists and their work. | Shopping at de novo, photo: Yvonne Montoya

We ended the art tour at the home of Dorothy Saxe, in Menlo Park. Dorothy and her late husband, George, were avid and passionate art collectors in a variety of genres including glass, ceramics, wood, and fiber, along with art jewelry. The bulk of the Saxes’s collection has been donated to the de Young Museum, in San Francisco. | Dorothy Saxe speaks about her collection (left to right) Gail Hufjay, Iris Eichenberg, Bill Baker, Dorothy Saxe, Edie Nadler, Jimena Ríos, Emily Schuster-Gurtman, Bonnie Levine, photo: Yvonne Montoya

Dorothy’s home is a feast for the eyes and all arranged in a comfortable setting. The collection includes work from well-known craft artists such Ken Price, Bob Arneson, Betty Woodman, Peter Voulkos, Diane Itter, Manuel Neri, Sam Maloof, and so many others. We left Dorothy’s house on an “art high” for our ride back to San Francisco. Dinner was near the San Francisco Ferry Building at the Waterfront Restaurant. We had a table overlooking the water and the evening was complete with good food and a convivial mood. What a great day and what wonderful memories we made! | Gail Hufjay and Iris Eichenberg admire work in Dorothy Saxe’s home, photo: Yvonne Montoya

Day 3: Sunday, June 26, 2022. Our Sunday experience started at San Francisco’s de Young Museum and the Alice Neel exhibition. Neel (1900–1984) was raised, and lived, in New York City. She produced her primary work in the 1960s and 1970s and her philosophy was “People Come First.” Neel painted New York City street scenes depicting people performing their everyday activities, photo: Bill Baker

However, much of Neel’s work was portraits. In her portraits, she attempted to assert her subject’s dignity and importance as a human being and she focused especially on individuals and strangers who had experienced injustice as a result of sexism and racism, as well as those who combated those societal ills. Neel’s work is poignant for our times, as all the efforts of individuals and groups from the 60s and 70s continues to erode, photo: Bill Baker

The de Young Museum is participating in the traveling exhibition of the Obama portraits. The portraits of both Barack and Michelle are part of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery collection. The painting of President Obama, by Kehinde Wiley, is part of the series of portraits of each president of the United States. President Obama is seen seated in one of President Abraham Lincoln’s chairs in a dignified pose with a casual backdrop of foliage and flowers, photo: Bill Baker

Michelle Obama’s portrait, by Amy Sherald, has a monochrome appearance that evokes a Renaissance painting. The painting holds a strong physical and psychological feeling of this unique individual, photo: Bill Baker

We ended the day at the artful home of Susan Beech, where we dined al fresco on sandwiches, salads, and dessert, overlooking the San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge shrouded in fog, and the city beyond. What could be better? During our visit we were able to explore the magic of Susan’s home—all the art jewelry, wall pieces, paintings, and specially designed furniture and fixtures. | Susan Beech shows off a new button, photo: Bill Baker

We also enjoyed two jewelry presentations. Tina Rath presented her work in commemoration of all the COVID victims. | In the foreground, Bonnie Levine; Tina’s husband, Gregory Crouch; and Tina Rath, photo: Yvonne Montoya

Tina Rath’s Requiem is a community-driven memorial honoring those who died due to COVID-19. On 50 x 72-inch drawings, a golden circle is drawn for each person who died. Accompanying the drawings are 12 prayer malas made from carved wood and quartz to make one large mala of 108, photo: Bill Baker

Michael Holmes, the owner of Velvet da Vinci, presented his personal art jewelry collection, which emphasizes political and social issues. Michael is a special resource and friend to AJF, with his wealth of information and knowledge about the contemporary jewelry world, its makers, galleries, and museums. | Mike Holmes handles pieces from his personal collection with onlookers (left to right) Iris Eichenberg, Marion Fulk, Bill Baker, Francine Baker, and Bonnie Levine, photo: Yvonne Montoya

We ended the afternoon with a group photo and long goodbyes before we all make our way home with some new treasures and so many good memories. | Standing with Tina Rath’s work commemorating COVID victims are (left to right) Marion Fulk, Yvonne Montoya, Bonnie Levine, Tina Rath, Ann Hedges, Gail Hufjay, Emily Schuster-Gurtman, Davira Taragin, Iris Eichenberg, Jill Deupi, Susan Beech, Jimena Ríos, Edie Nadler, Bill Baker, Francine Baker, and Mike Holmes, photo: Gregory Crouch

Author

Bill Baker

Bill and his wife, Francine, have been members of AJF for over five years and have collected art jewelry for over 20 years. Bill was an attorney for 40 years and also involved in volunteer work in the legal arena and in the city of Claremont, CA. Bill and Francine enjoy active travel, visiting museums, and seeking galleries that focus on art jewelry.

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