August 2025, 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.
FEEL LIKE SEEING A JEWELRY SHOW?
Find listings from around the world on our dedicated exhibition page.
JEWELRY EVENTS
We have a dedicated page for them. Go here to see the list.
FROM OUR MEMBERS
THINGS UNSAID, AT PISTACHIOS
Featuring 34 members of Precious Collective, this exhibition will conceptually explore a tangible manifestation of things unsaid. How can we extend the voice of materiality through acts of making? Where does the metaphysical influence the language of jewelry? Each artist made a collection of work specifically for this exhibition, and this is the first time Precious Collective will be featured in the United States. August 14–October 26, 2025. Reception: August 14, 4–7 p.m. Info.
MOBILIA SPOTLIGHTS MIZUKO YAMADA
Yamada’s vibrant collection of sculptural jewelry is reminiscent of Matisse’s bold sculptural shapes. In colored aluminum, each plant-inspired piece is lighter than air. More.
THE VALUE OF NOTHING, AT GALERIE DOOR
These works of jewelry explore individual values, conceptual value, the value of the material parts, and value in the marketplace states their maker, Caroline Thomas. “We put a value on things all the time, quantifying and stratifying objects, emotions, experiences, in a myriad of ways. Human beings are hierarchical and some values, like gold and happiness, remain entrenched at the top of the value league, aspirational and desirable and, often, unobtainable.” August 9–September 13, 2025. Opening August 9, 3–6 p.m., with the artist present. More.
GARDEN .\ A GROUP EXHIBITION INSPIRED BY NATURE
From the first shell strung on a cord to a petal cast in gold, jewelry has been a way to carry the world’s forms, meanings, and beauty with us. Today, that impulse endures, but often with a different edge. Contemporary jewelers work with fragility and decay, with organic materials that shift and weather. Their pieces ask not only what is beautiful, but why. Beauty isn’t always fixed or perfect—but fleeting, complex, and deeply human. At Sienna Patti, through August 31, 2025. More.
ESTEBAN EROSKY, AT FOUR GALLERY
Born in Mexico City, Erosky currently lives in Madrid, Spain. He’s currently engaged in artistic enamel and jewelry, but also in the investigation of new techniques and new languages of enamel and its application in contemporary jewelry. In his work, he also reflects on gender and sexuality, often using sarcasm or total violence in shapes, colors, or symbols. September 6–20, 2025. More.
LEO, AT LISBON’S GALERIA TEREZA SEABRA
This month-long exhibition—part of the year-long Rings of Saturn series, which focuses on astrological signs—features work by Mónica Taipina, Alejandra Ferrer Escobar, Miguel Branco, Nedda El-Asmar, Hansel Tai, and Julia Obermaier. It opened July 26, 2025. More.
LAUNCH PARTY FOR THE STORY SO FAR: HELEN BRITTON—AUGUST 27, 2025
Britton’s practice includes jewelry, sculpture, drawings, stencils, and installations, and is informed by popular culture and folk art, threatened traditions, environmental destruction, and human anxiety. This show is part of the Living Treasures: Masters of Australian Craft series, which focuses on current work, not historic surveys, to ensure that the work and ideas presented are current reflections of the practitioner’s process and output. Launches August 27, 6–8 p.m., with special guest speaker Maud Page, director of the Art Gallery of NSW. Seats are limited, so registration is essential; do so here. On view at Australian Design Centre, August 28–October 4, 2025. More.
JENNIFER ALTMANN WILL TEACH WORKSHOP FOR JEWELRY ARTISTS AT ROMANIAN JEWELRY WEEK
“Craft your Artist Statement,” a workshop taught by AJF member Jennifer Altmann, will walk jewelry artists through the steps to writing an artist statement that expresses their vision for their work. Prompts and exercises will be offered, as well as advice on how to talk about inspirations, influences, materials used, and more. The workshop is October 2, 2025, at Romanian Jewelry Week. Limited spots available. Info.
IN MOTION: JEWELRY THAT PLAYS BACK
Ellyse Bendillo and Kate Dannenberg, of Night Shift Studio, co-curated 11 metalsmiths who create kinetic jewelry that moves or transforms when worn or displayed. You’ll find pieces that dance, sway, spin, and shake—shapeshifting before your eyes! At Gravers Lane Gallery, through August 28, 2025. More.
IMMEDIATE CONNECTIONS, AT WOMEN’S ART CENTER OF THE HAMPTONS
Oblik Atelier, Meghan Patrice Riley, and Birabiro show off their approach to creating wearable works of art using wire as a core element. Presented in partnership with NYCJW. August 15 and 16, 2025. More.
MEDIA COVERAGE FOR GALERIE DOOR
This summer, the gallery is exhibiting the winners of Preziosa Young. “How did this international exhibition end up in a medium-sized city like Nijmegen? Quite simply: Doreen Timmers was on the jury, along with 10 other experts. She’s considered an authority in this particular field of art,” says the article in De Gelderlander. More.
ALBA CAPPELLIERI HAS PUBLISHED NEW BOOK ON CHAINS
A friend of Coco Chanel’s asked her what to give the woman he loved. “Women adore chains,” she replied, “give her a chain and she will adore you.” Adored by kings and queens, too, chains are also both a symbol of the manufacturing skills of ancient civilizations and the countercultures of the young. Chains: Stories, Fashions and Techniques of the Most Beloved Jewels traces the chain’s symbolic and aesthetic evolution, as well as its intersections with art, fashion, design, craftmanship, and new technologies. More.
OTHER NEWS
39TH MARZEE INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE SHOW
The show aims to endorse the work of a new generation of jewelry artists; to increase their exposure to the wider public; and to encourage a dialogue between makers and wearers. It will open August 31, 2025, at 4 p.m. Get info here.
BEEST GROUP EXHIBITION—AUGUST 24–SEPTEMBER 27, 2025
Three Belgian and three Estonian artists were asked what the word “Beest” evokes in them. See the answers in this show at Galerie Pont en Plas. Features work by Jorgé Manilla, Karen Vanmol, Lore Langendries, Ketli Tiitsar, Kristi Paap, and Tanel Veenre. More.
SHINE 2025
The Goldsmiths Centre’s annual showcase of new jewelry and silversmithing talent returns September 17–December 22, 2025, in London. More.
NOMINATE AN AMERICAN MASTER OF THE MEDIUM FOR 2026
Check out the James Renwick Alliance’s list of past honorees—who’s missing?—then make a nomination. Go here.
METALS CHALLENGE SHOW: A TIME TRAVELLER’S RELIC
Participants were required to “make use” of all the elements in a mystery supply kit, but could add anything else they wished to create a piece for the wrist inspired by a journey to another place in time, either real or imagined. Organized by the Metal Arts Society of Southern California. On view at Creative Arts Group, Sierra Madre, CA, August 3–31, 2025. Info.
AMITA RAO LIKES A RING THAT CAN HIDE THINGS
The star of the show Adults enjoys a secret. Her cat ring, found at the online second-hand store ShopGoodwill, has a hidden compartment … it evidently hid coke at some point in time, and now houses a wee sterling silver mouse. “This is my first piece of jewelry that I found and was like, ‘I’m going to pass this down to my kids,’” says the actor. More.
ANCIENT GEMS LINKED TO THE BUDDHA RETURN TO INDIA
The nation’s Culture ministry had threatened legal action over the planned Sotheby’s auction of 334 Piprahwa precious stones excavated by an English colonial landowner in 1898. Many Buddhists believe the presence of the Buddha imbues the gems, so they should be treated as corporeal remains. They’ve now been purchased through a private-public partnership with the country’s government. More. See the gems up close and learn their history here.
OPPORTUNITIES
CALL FOR ENTRY: EARRINGS GALORE
This annual juried exhibition presents a rich and diverse array of earrings made by emerging and established studio jewelers. Each artist’s unique approach to the earring format is represented in a cohesive grouping. Deadline: September 14, 2025. Info.
WOUND WOUND—WORKSHOP, AUGUST 16, 2025
In this intimate workshop and guided tour of the exhibition Wearing.Opacities, Debris Facility will lead participants in a process of making rings or other wearable and jewelry objects using off-cut medical plastics and found materials. At Alta Forma, in Melbourne, Australia. Info.
PAGES
JEWELLERY NOW: THE CURATORS’ EDIT
Curators Elizabeth Goring and Philip Hughes present their selection of work for an exhibition of the same name. The jewelry pieces were made by 64 of some of the best and most interesting designer jewelers in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, from the most experienced to those making exceptional work in the early stages of their careers. This catalog accompanies an exhibition at Ruthin Craft Centre, July–September 2025. It’s in AJF’s digital Library; read it free here. Or order your copy here.
MAKING A KILLING IN DIAMONDS
A shocking murder. A glittering lie. A mystery that cuts to the core of the diamond district’s most explosive debate. In an industry where sparkle often masks shadow, what happens when innovation becomes a threat, and someone is willing to kill to silence it? Journalist and longtime JCK and JCKonline News Director Rob Bates returns with the fourth installment in his critically acclaimed series, unspooling a tightly plotted murder mystery grounded in the real, often hidden dynamics of the gem and jewelry world. More.
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