NEWS RELEASE
October 30, 2011
Contact: Susan Cummins (415-435-1614) email info@artjewelryforum.com
Mill Valley, CA, October 29, 2011 – The Art Jewelry Forum (AJF) is pleased to announce that it has commissioned Dutch jeweler Ted Noten to create a limited edition pin for their organization. The pins will be distributed to all new and renewing AJF supporters in 2012 as an exclusive benefit. This is the second in a series of annual collectible pins created by artists exclusively for AJF. The first pin, offered this year, was designed by United States jewelry maker Arthur Hash.
According to Marcel van Kan, designer and production manager of Atelier Ted Noten, ‘The Turbo Princess is one of the most important pieces where Ted’s success started. It was described as the first conceptual piece he made. From that moment on, it became clear what his position was in the jewellery field and even more important, beyond that.’
The original Princess design was born out of anger. Noten was asked to design a pearl necklace for a contemporary art event. Instead of making another ordinary pearl necklace, he presented a mouse wearing pearls set in an acrylic box that hung on a steel wire chain and he asked, ‘Who is wearing the best piece of jewelry? The lady who puts on the necklace or the mouse decorated with pearls?’
Ted Noten is best known for conceptual jewelry that reflects his humor, rebellious nature and his interest in contemporary philosophical, social and stylistic issues. His work straddles the line between jewelry and design. No stranger to controversy, he often bases his designs on themes that challenge convention such as encasing objects in acrylic handbags or sawing up a Mercedes Benz car into brooches.
Born in Tegelen, The Netherlands, in 1956, Noten explored careers such as bricklaying and nursing at a psychiatric hospital before applying to art school. He enrolled in the Academy for Applied Arts in Maastricht, The Netherlands and in 1990 he obtained a degree from Amsterdam’s Rietveld Academie. In 2008, Noten received the Françoise van den Bosch Award, which recognizes an international jeweler whose work embodies exceptional quality and innovation. Noten has participated in numerous exhibitions around the world and he is represented by galleries and museum collections worldwide. He recently won the Dutch Artist of the Year award.
Art Jewelry Forum is a non-profit organization created in 1997 to advocate for the field of contemporary art jewelry by promoting education, discourse, appreciation and support for the international field.
