April 2026, Part 1
Art Jewelry Forum is pleased to share all jewelry news. If you’re a member of AJF, you may add news and ideas to this bi-monthly report by submitting here. If you aren’t a member, but would like to become one, join AJF here.
Some of the news items below have no accompanying images. AJF regrets not having the staff capacity to request imagery and permissions from non-members of AJF. You may send us a high-res image (1 MB or larger) for a news listing that concerns you by emailing our managing editor at nathalie [at] artjewelryforum [dot] org. We will promptly add it to the corresponding newsbyte.
AJF LIVE WITH DIVA MUSEUM: RINGS THAT ROCK
Save the date for our next program! It will take place April 20, 2026. More information to come.
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.
NEWS FROM OUR MEMBERS
THOMAS GENTILLE OBITUARY PUBLISHED IN THE NY TIMES
“He was a master jeweler,” states the headline, “but his pieces looked more like miniature contemporary artworks than anything you’d find at Cartier.” Read the article here.
A DREAM OUTSIDE MY BODY, AT THE BJC
This group exhibition investigates how interpersonal connections and shared space influences the work of 10 contemporary artists. The artists are affiliated through the Baltimore Jewelry Center, and each has jewelry or metalsmithing as a significant component of their varied practices. While this iteration of the exhibition is condensed from the original, expansive display at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, the three central themes of the exhibition remain: jewelry as talisman; jewelry as an extension of the maker’s or wearer’s identity; and the application of “jewelry thinking” to other materials and disciplines. Viewers will encounter pieces that reflect these themes through multiple perspectives, processes, and media, including ceramics, paper, wood carving, illustration, painting, and sculpture. Info.
KONSTFACK STUDENTS PRESENT BODY DOUBLE AT SWEDEN’S SCIENCE MUSEUM
Inspired by the exhibition Hyper Human, at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm, 10 bachelor’s students from Konstfack’s Jewellery and Corpus: Ädellab program present a jewelry exhibition on the body, technology, and identity. Drawing on themes from such as gene editing, surveillance, artificial intelligence, ageing, and death, the works explore where the body begins and ends in a digital present and how the boundary between human and machine can be renegotiated. Through December 6, 2026. More.
DESTINATION BIJOU CAGNES-SUR-MER, JUNE 4–7 2026
Cagnes-sur-Mer, in France, will host its second jewelry week. With its seaside, its medieval Castle Grimaldi, its scenic medieval old town, and Espace Solidor—the only museum solely dedicated to contemporary jewelry in Europe—Cagnes is the perfect French Riviera location for a four-day event packed with a dozen exhibitions by international collectives and galleries, lectures (in French and English), open studios of local artists, guided tours, and workshops for kids and family. Destination Bijou will present an exhibition by Noel Guyomarc’h and Platina, and a lecture by Jennifer Altmann. More.
BOOK—CHAINMAKING FOR JEWELERS
Over the course of five years, Matthieu Cheminée painstakingly researched and fabricated over 100 chains and documented each step in the process for this 540-page book. Rounded out with important information about tools, classic goldsmithing techniques, and studio best practices, this volume contains everything you need to know to make chains. Order it from Charon Kransen, who describes it as the best overview on chains, ever. (Email charon [at] charonkransenarts [dot] com)
MAD ABOUT JEWELRY: MAY 5–9, 2026
Now in its 26th year, the pop-up brings together 45 creators from more than 20 countries, including England, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, Argentina, Scandinavia, the Middle East, and beyond. As the only American museum with a gallery dedicated exclusively to jewelry, MAD has spent over a quarter-century championing this medium. Info.
COCO SUNG, DOROTHEA PRÜHL, AND GRAZIANO VISITIN ARE LOEWE FOUNDATION 2026 CRAFT PRIZE FINALISTS
Congratulations! The Loewe Foundation received 5,100 submissions and three among the 30 artists selected make jewelry. The finalists’ works will be shown at the National Gallery Singapore May 13–June 14, 2026. The winner and two special mentions will be announced May 12, 2026. The winner receives €50,000. More.
SEE UTE DECKER IN PERSISTENCE OF FORM: FUNCTIONAL ART & JEWELLERY
This exhibition explores the intersection of functional art and jewelry through a shared language of composition across scales. It creates a rare dialogue between historic and contemporary icons, including Charlotte Perriand, Ingrid Donat, and Gabriella Crespi, highlighting how sculptural form transitions seamlessly from interior spaces to the body. Decker contributes one of her hand-sculpted works to this curation, emphasizing the profound relationship between architectural volume and the intimacy of wearable art. At Carpenters Workshop, London, through May 2, 2026. Info.
JELO6 ATHENS 2026, MAY 13–17, 2026
The central exhibition, Jewelry + Objects + Our 6 Senses, will be hosted at the Benaki Museum – Pireos 138. Satellite exhibitions and events will unfold across collaborating galleries and art spaces, as well as in alternative venues throughout the center of Athens. Website.
JORGE MANILLA ON VIEW AT FOUR
Manilla’s latest body of work is inspired by cave paintings. Generally associated with illustrations of everyday life, these communicate ideas, and they express spiritual or magical beliefs, often related to hunting or fertility rituals. In the work Reflexion, Manilla uses casting and patina techniques to bring viewers closer to an understanding of the origins of humanity. Born and raised in Mexico but now living in Belgium, Manilla conveys in his work something raw and sometimes brutal with a gentle sensitivity. Through April 11, 2026.
BIJOU, CAILLOU…, AT GALERIE NOEL GUYOMARC’H
This show brings together nine invited international artists who reveal the raw stone in all its power and delicacy. In their hands, the material awakens: carved, polished, transformed, it reveals unexpected jewelry. This isn’t about stones cut for setting in precious metal, but about artists who draw from stone fascinating and spectacular jewels, through a combination of traditional and contemporary techniques of subtraction and composition. The stone is no longer a fragment serving metal but becomes both artwork and adornment. Through May 16, 2026. Info.
RIGA’S MUSEUM OF DECORATIVE ARTS AND DESIGN LAUNCHES JEWELRY POP-UP SERIES
The series, named Spectrum, reflects current developments in Latvian jewelry art. The museum is hosting it in cooperation with the Latvian Jewelry Art Association. The first exhibition, titled Artist’s Signature, runs through May 31, 2026. It will be followed by three others, titled Beautiful Nature, Architecture of Lines, and Noise. More.
MAKE ECO-CHIC PENDANTS WITH DEBRA RAPOPORT
Celebrate Earth Day at an eco-friendly craft evening led by jewelry artist and fashion icon Debra Rapoport. In this hands-on workshop, participants will create bold palm leaf pendants embellished with upcycled materials including bottle caps, buttons, and textiles. Art materials will be provided. Participants may also bring their own everyday throwaways to transform into chic wearables. At the Museum of Arts and Design, New York City, April 22, 2026, 6–8 pm. More.
ZU DESIGN CELEBRATES 29 YEARS—CONGRATULATIONS!
You’re invited to a celebration on Thursday, April 16, 2026, 5:30–7:30 pm, at 102G Gay’s Arcade, Adelaide, South Australia 5000! Dress up in your favorite pieces and drop by the gallery for a sparkling evening. Sip wines from Howards Vineyard, enjoy a glass (or two) of bubbles, and wander through Zu design to meet the makers, try on something new, and party down! (Enter via Gay’s Arcade, Twin Street.)
CALL FOR ENTRIES FOR THE BJC
The Baltimore Jewelry Center is currently accepting applications for its third annual graduate exhibition. This exhibition will feature the work of emerging jewelers and metalsmiths as they complete their formal education while also acting as an archive and spotlight for the work being created by recent graduates. Deadline: June 7, 2026. Info.
OPENING SOON AT THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM: DOURIEAN FLETCHER
The exhibition Douriean Fletcher: Jewelry of the Afrofuture was originally co-curated by AJF member Barbara Paris Gifford and independent curator Sebastian Grant. It now travels from the Museum of Arts and Design to the Walters. The show focuses on Fletcher, a self-taught jewelry artist whose work spans costume, film, and independent design. It explores her jewelry as a powerful narrative tool in art, Black identity, and visual storytelling through more than 100 works. It will run April 18–August 9, 2026. More.
BORAX TO HOST SOLO SHOW BY BENEDICT HAENER
Haener, who won the 2026 Young Artist Award, will show some new works in the exhibition, to be held in 2027.
TED: 36 YEARS ON THE MOVE/AKA ROUTE 36, AT GALERIE MARZEE
This retrospective exhibition of Ted Noten’s work opens April 18, 2026. It’s not tied to an anniversary or particular milestone—yet why not? Maybe the number holds meaning for the artist, as seen in projects such as Haunted by 36 Women. The show unfolds as a path constructed from stacked boxes, evoking constant movement, transition, change, a state of perpetual relocation. An accompanying book will also be released. It brings together stories—arranged as a timeline—that may or may not directly relate to the works on view, but always reflect specific moments in time, revealing Noten’s thoughts, hopes, principles, and struggles. Illustrated by Into Niilo, the book will be available worldwide. More.
COMPLEMENTING REALITY—WORK BY HELEN CLARA HEMSLEY AND METTE SAABYE
Runs April 9–30, 2026, at Platina. Hemsley and Saabye use their personal experiences, immediate surroundings and international events in their childhood/youth during the 70s and 80s to make jewelry together, bearing witness to their lives in two countries far away from each other, and the overlaps and connections between them. But also the holes that they try to fill together, carefully, with respect and kindness—thereby complementing reality. The diversity of perception of the individual topics is presented and mirrored by a work by each artist. More.
BOOK—BRILLIANCE: JEWELRY ART AND FASHION
A visual journey through four millennia of jewelry as told through the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. From ancient Egyptian collars to contemporary studio pieces, jewelry has been used as a communication tool across the ages and around the world. The MFA’s collection showcases stories of human ingenuity through an incredible array of designs, materials, and techniques. Via 100+ pieces, the book explores jewelry as a messenger, as a decorative art, and as an object of adornment. By Emily Stoehrer, with contributions by Bettina Burr, Tanya Crane, Helen W. Drutt English, Melanie Grant, Yasmin Hemmerle, Amin Jaffer, Henrietta Lidchi, Bella Nyman, Victoria Reed, Kendall Reiss, and Joyce J. Scott. More.
PISTACHIOS IS HIRING
The Chicago gallery seeks a gallery assistant/sales associate to join its small team. The ideal candidate is someone with sales experience that is highly motivated, detail-oriented and reliable. Info.
NEWS FROM ALL AROUND
SALOTTO SPJ FEATURES GIAMPAOLO BABETTO APRIL 23–25, 2026
The Italian master jeweler is among the most influential figures of the Scuola di Padova. In his work, Babetto has explored the jewelry object as a precise and poetic form, defined by line, surface, and volume, for more than five decades. He will be in conversation with the art historian and jewelry expert Paola Stoppiana on April 23, at 18:00. To attend, email josefine@salottospj.com or marie@hellotheroses.com.
EXHIBITIONS AT TYLER THIS SPRING
The Metals/Jewelry CAD-CAM program at Tyler hosts a series of student shows. Join them in celebrating their achievements.
- Miscellany, 2026 MJCC Senior Exhibition, at Tyler Atrium, through April 11, 2026
- Weiwei Li, at Temple Contemporary, April 15–18, 2026
- Daniel Gottschalk, at Temple Contemporary, April 22–25, 2026
Can’t attend? See more on Tyler’s IG.
A SHARED SILENCE, AT VILLA BENGEL
This exhibition is a tribute by Iranian artists who are currently studying or have studied in Idar-Oberstein to the people of their homeland. It showcases the works of 13 Iranian jewelry artists whose work is shaped by experiences such as displacement, loss, oppression, and ongoing inner turmoil. Their creations exist in a liminal space—between memory and present, closeness and distance, hope and despair. The exhibition also serves as a bridge: Through the artists’ experiences, it connects pain and hope, past and present, and calls upon us to stand up for freedom and dignity. In Idar-Oberstein, Germany, through May 17, 2026. Info.
RINGS THAT ROCK, AT DIVA MUSEUM
Journey through more than seven centuries of ring culture, where power, love and brilliance take center stage. From royal might to personal love stories, from bold statements to refined elegance, this exhibition explores the meaning and symbolism of diamond rings from the 15th century to the present day. In Antwerp, through November 8, 2026. More.
TOO MANY BROOCHES, BRO?
Pundits are asking whether the many brooches on male actors’ lapels at the Oscars are getting to be too much. Adrian Brody wore a huge one titled Ulysses, Javier Bardem communicated “No a la Guerra (No to War)” with his, Leonardo DiCaprio donned a bumblebee that could refer to Re:wild, a conservation group he helps lead. Is anybody wondering if actresses’ brooches are too much? Hm. This smacks of sexism. More in the Guardian.
OPPORTUNITIES
ENJOIA’T 2026 OPEN CALL
Now in its 29th edition, this international competition recognizes innovation and excellence in contemporary jewelry. Each year, it brings together emerging and established talents from around the world to Barcelona. It seeks proposals that stand out for their originality, technical precision, and innovative thinking. Emphasis is placed on works that articulate a clear conceptual narrative—engaging with the relationship between the body and the object—while demonstrating a conscious and resourceful approach to materials, where sustainability enhances rather than limits the expressive potential of the piece. Deadline: June 14, 2026. Info. Application form here.
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