Articles

International

12/01/2025

Have You Heard

Today in Art Jewelry

By Art Jewelry Forum

December 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.

POMP IT UP! AJF LIVE WITH BRYNA POMP—DECEMBER 10, 2025
Join us for a talk about her fascinating role at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), in New York City. Bryna works with the most extraordinary contemporary jewelry artists of our time. She will share her rarified experience in the jewelry field and how her dedication to supporting working artists fuels her work. Save the date! Register here.

FEEL LIKE SEEING A JEWELRY SHOW?
Find listings from around the world on our dedicated exhibition page.

EVENTS
Did you know that there are upward of 45 recurring events focused on art jewelry—jewelry weeks, jewelry fairs, etc.?! We have a dedicated page for them. Go here to see the list. There are none this month, but it’s time to plan for 2026!

NEWS FROM OUR MEMBERS

TWISTED COAGULATION, AT GALERIE DOOR
Features work by Danni Schwaag. Opens December 13, 2025, and runs until January 2026. Info.

SALOTTO SPJ’S LAST SALON OF 2025 FEATURES ISABEL WANG PONTOPPIDAN
The exhibition of work by the Danish-Chinese artist, writer, and jewelry maker takes place December 10–17, 2025, at Via Morozzo della Rocca 8 , 4th floor (citofono 1012), 20123 Milan, Italy. A short performance and an artist talk will take place around 6 pm on opening day. On December 12, at 6 pm, the artist will give a lecture about her new work for Salotto SPJ exploring identity and the ways objects shape our sense of self, memory and belonging. RSVP/appointment required, e-mail josefine@salottospj.com.

THE CONSTELLATIONS EXHIBITION WILL TRAVEL!
Ideally you’ll see it in its original scenography at the Dallas Museum of Art, but if you can’t you’ll have at least two other opportunities. It will open at the Chrysler Museum of Art, in Norfolk, VA, US, in June 2026. After that, it goes to the Joslyn Art Museum, in Omaha, NE, US. Hurrah!

TREASURE HUNT: AT MOBILIA NOVEMBER 28–DECEMBER 31, 2025
An invitational group exhibition inspired by the discovery of King Tut’s tomb, featuring exquisite objects worthy of treasuring for generations: Outstanding jewelry, stunning vessels, textiles, and sculptural objects. More.

HOLIDAY EARRING SHOW, AT ORNAMENTUM THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2025
Over the years, as the gallery got caught up with booths at numerous fairs and events, a very popular show from its early days fell by the wayside. The tradition has been rekindled! More.

CASH, AT BORAX—DECEMBER 6–7 AND 13–14, 2025
Bitcoin is going haywire. Trump has created a meme coin to get richer. Cash is quietly disappearing while gold reaches new records. Beyond its ornamental and symbolic dimensions, jewelry has always served as a reserve in times of crisis, as illustrated by the use of coins and ingots in certain pieces. This group exhibition explores our relationship with money through 15 creations by an international group: Nicolas Christol, Minerva Cuevas, Nora Delanoë, Robin Deriaz, Vadim Gordeev, Armin Najib, Benedict Häner, Margot Jud, Jeannette Knigge, Martin Muller, Bette Nunneley, Philip Sajet, Bernhard Schobinger, Milton Stavrou, and Mélane Zumbrunnen. More.

SEE WORK FROM SPECKNER RESIDENCY
The 92Y displayed new and archival work following Bettina Speckner’s summer residency there. Find out more here.

MARGIT HART NOMINATED FOR ELIGIUS AWARD 2025—CONGRATULATIONS!
The only Austrian jewelry prize for body jewelry and jewelry objects was established by the state of Salzburg in 2005 and is awarded every three years. The work of the nominees is on view at Kunstraum Traklhaus, in Salzburg, through December 13, 2025. Other artists in the competition: Sonja Bischur, Ursula Guttmann, Andrea MAXA Halmschlager, Iris Hummer, Stephie Morawetz, Konstanze Prechtl, Eva Tesarik, and Uma Vogl-Fernheim. More and still more.

ATTEND A HOLIDAY PARTY AT GALERIE NOEL GUYOMARC’H, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2025
To celebrate the year 2025—rich in exceptional projects, discoveries, and encounters—as well as the holiday season and the Montreal-based gallery’s talented artists, all are invited to a gathering 1–5 pm. Reconnect and end the year on a high note! More.

CAROLINE PALMER REPORTED ON FROM LOUISE BOURGEOIS TO YOKO ONO
From a spider brooch to a brass and fur bracelet, a show at the Museum of Applied Arts Cologne (MAKK) through April 26, 2026, celebrates historic pieces of female jewelry self-expression. See Palmer’s article in the Financial Times, here.

NEWS FROM ALL AROUND

HANDWERK & DESIGN 2026—SUSTAINABLE AND SOCIAL: THE CRAFT OF THE FUTURE
From darning socks to medical prostheses, craftmanship has many faces. Running parallel to the Internationale Handwerksmesse, at Munich’s fairground March 4–6, 2026, Handwerk & Design 2026 will showcase handmade premium products made of wood and concrete, silver, plastic, ceramics, glass, and textiles. More.

SOFIA TEKELA-SMITH RECEIVES THE PACIFIC CONTEMPORARY ARTIST AWARD
Congratulations! Tekela-Smith explores identity and connection through contemporary Pacific design. Her practice “moves with humility and reciprocity—extending beyond gallery walls into spaces often unseen by the art world,” states a press release. The artist figures prominently in an AJF article written by lambert, here. See some of her work in her IG feed.

FOUR EXHIBITIONS AT GALERIE MARZEE
There are two solo exhibitions: Katharina Dettar—Lapis, Dust and Ashes and Dominik Cunningham—Theia Mania, which shows jewelry and objects. A thematic exhibition, About Hare, focuses on the widely used symbol in art and literature, with jewelry from Marzee’s collection and from artists asked to contribute objects or jewelry made for this show. And an exhibition commemorates the remarkable Italian jewelry artist Francesco Pavan (1937–2025). Through January 27, 2026. More.

HILDE LEISS GALERIE HOSTS YEAR-END EXHIBITION
Visitors to the Hamburg gallery will enjoy creations by renowned makers from the contemporary German and international scene. The spectrum includes contemporary jewelry, vessels, and imaginative accessories. Artists include Peter Bauhuis, Michael Becker, Ramón Puig Cuyàs, Bettina Dittlmann, Babette von Dohnanyi, Sam Tho Duong, Doerthe Fuchs, Mirjam Hiller, Ryungaje Jung, Jiro Kamata, Uli Rapp, and many others. Through January 10, 2026. More.

WHAT WE SHARE: ON HORIZONTAL COMMUNITIES, IN CHINA
All the artists participating in this exhibition studied at German art schools, were born in Germany, or taught in Germany. The show brings together contemporary jewelry and object art from graduating classes between 2005 and 2025. It proposes a networked reading: How do generational voices overlap, challenge or echo each other? Which material strategies, aesthetic ideas, narratives, and social commentaries persist or shift over time? At Puyuan International Contemporary Jewellery Art and Design Biennale, through February 22, 2026, curated by Melanie Isverding. More.

UKRAINIAN JEWELERS FORGE NETWORK TO GUARD HERITAGE AND NURTURE THE FUTURE
When Russia invaded Ukraine, Olga Oleksenko, a former Van Cleef & Arpels executive, collector, and arts patron, opted not to retreat, but to create. After the initial shock, she founded Strong & Precious, a charitable art foundation and educational program. Oleksenko and participating designers presented their most significant New York exhibition to date at the Ukrainian Institute of America during NYC Jewelry Week. More.

A WEARABLE AI “PAL” ISN’T MAKING MANY FRIENDS
A flood of ads touting the white bulb-shaped pendant is inspiring vandalism across NYC’s subway system. Graffiti ranges from hostile (“AI is burning the world around you”) to pleading (“make a real friend”). People accuse the company of profiting from the loneliness epidemic and of serving as capitalist surveillance. It has sold about 3,500 units since release this summer. The Friend doesn’t talk. Although you’re talk aloud to it, it can only reply in writing on an app. More. Other visual examples here.

AUCTION: ART JEWELRY AND JEWELS—DECEMBER 10, 2025
Quittenbaum concludes the year with its biannual jewelry auction—and what a dazzling finale it promises to be! More than 200 lots bring together the best of two fascinating worlds: contemporary art jewelry by internationally acclaimed artists and classic fine jewelry. Zanella, Fritsch, Künzli, Babetto, Rothmann, Jünger, Sajet, and many others! More.

PAGES SPOTLIGHTING JEWELRY

CLAIRE LAVENDHOMME: ARTISTE DU BIJOU—JEWELLERY ARTIST
This book looks back on 40+ years of the artist’s creations, revealing a visual language that is both rigorous and deeply personal. Through color, light, material, and movement, Lavendhomme develops a sensitive approach to jewelry as an object of relationship, thought, and presence. Critical texts, essays, and interviews intertwine to paint a multifaceted portrait of the artist. Contributions from Gaëlle Clark, Ornella La Vaccara, Chloé Noyon, Pierre Relaño, and Céline Robin. More.

ISSUE 58 OF MILK DECORATION
Work by Empar Juanes, Fumiki Taguchi, and Caroline Broadhead got featured with large photos in the August/September 2025 issue of the magazine, as part of an interview with Sheila Loewe about the 2025 Loewe Foundation Craft Prize. The three makers were finalists for the prize.

The opinions stated here do not necessarily express those of AJF.

We welcome your comments on our publishing, and we will publish letters that engage with our articles in a thoughtful and polite manner. Please submit letters to the editor electronically; do so here. The page on which we publish Letters to the Editor is here.