February 2024, 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.
Listings gathered with assistance from Carrie Yodanis.
SAVE THE DATES FOR THESE EXCITING AJF TRIPS IN 2024!
AJF has a year of fabulous travel opportunities planned just for jewelry lovers!!!
- February 28–March 3, 2024: Munich Jewelry Week
- June 13–16, 2024: Montreal, Canada
- September 8–15, 2024: Amsterdam, Netherlands
- November 18–24, 2024: NYC Jewelry Week
Find out all the information on our Events page, here. One of the perks of giving at the Silver level is the opportunity to join a cast of jewelry world aficionados as we travel the world. If you’d like more information about our trips, or have any questions about your membership, email Yvonne at yvonne (at) artjewelryforum (dot) org. To become a member, join here. See member benefits here.
EVENTS
We have a dedicated page for events. Go here to see the list.
FEEL LIKE SEEING A JEWELRY SHOW?
Find these listings and many, many more from around the globe on our dedicated exhibition page:
- Uncommon Threads, at Pistachios through March 31
- Katachi: form + focus. Mari Ishikawa, Fumiki Taguchi, Takashi Kojima, Itto Mishima, at Platina through February 17
- Holoculus: Jiro Kamata, at Gallery Funaki through March 8
MEMBER RECOMMENDATIONS
We’re always looking for tips for a good book, an excellent movie, or a terrific exhibition—aren’t you? If you’re an AJF member, please tell us about something you’ve enjoyed recently. We’ll share it with all our readers in this bimonthly news report. Submit here anytime.
SUSAN CUMMINS RECOMMENDS A BOOK AND A TV SERIES
“The Bee Sting, by Paul Murray,” says Cummins, “is a complex and intertwined story about a family, their business, and their fears. This book is a compelling read. Slow Horses is a TV series starring Gary Oldman, whose character is a complete slob running a down-and-out unit of the MI5. Great characters and good story!”
ADRIANA RĂDULESCU RECOMMENDS A FILM AND TWO EXHIBITIONS
Wim Wenders’s movie Anselm, currently in cinemas, is beautifully filmed, says Rădulescu. It explores the artist’s obsessions and creative process, and Kiefer’s work is moving, existentialist, and extremely beautiful. Watch the trailer here. The exhibition Ellsworth Kelly at 100 is on view at Glenstone Museum, in Potomac, Maryland, until March 17. It’s very beautiful, and it shows the artist’s interest in nature, photography, and color in a cohesive way. Plus they have Yellow Curve sugar cookies at the museum cafe. (They’re named after one of the exhibition pieces installed in its own space.) Beppe Kessler’s solo show, titled for ever, was at Jewelers’ Werk Galerie, in Washington, DC, until February 1. It showed top Kessler work with a sensitive, evocative use of her memories—the pieces are emotional and beautiful.
FROM OUR MEMBERS
WILL YOU BE IN TUCSON FOR THE 2024 GEM SHOW?
If so, be sure to attend Of the Garden’s Earth & Air, at Yun Gee Park Gallery & Atelier through February 17. With fantastical creatures presented in evocative displays, this must-see exhibition features work by Ahmi Yu, Jong Seok Lim, Lin Stanionis, Märta Mattsson, and Masumi Kataoka, and paintings by Frank Gonzales. Go here to take a peek at the delights in store for you.
SEE 365 GRAMS, AT THE BALTIMORE JEWELRY CENTER: FEBRUARY 16–MARCH 29
This exhibition is part documentation and part reclamation. Beginning on July 1, 2016, without fail, Rebecca Strzelec wore one piece of jewelry from the large collection her grandmother (aka gram) had given her, as a way to show the jewels the respect and attention they deserved. After that, the jewelry became raw material for a new body of work. More.
SEE KARL FRITSCH AT VICEVERSA: FEBRUARY 28–MARCH 30, 2024
In Karl Fritsch: Ringlein, Ringlein, Du Musst Wandern, the sentimental dimension of jewelry that has already been worn provides Fritsch with a basis for dialogue. Respecting the past without sanctifying it, he breathes new life into these rings, endowing them with irreverent, protective, and joyful attributes. Using clear gestures and a casting technique that he applies directly to the old pieces, he confronts his artistic gesture with nostalgia, joining their forces rather than setting them in opposition. Fritsch will be present at the opening on February 27.
SEE HELEN CLARA HEMSLEY AT JEWELERS’WERK GALERIE: FEBRUARY 3–29, 2024
Hemsley works predominantly with textiles and found objects. “Often crafted in mundane materials,” she said, “my jewelry is a way of communicating the observations I make, my love of words and sayings, and my incurable need to process and understand the world around me. This results in work that is matter-of-fact, amusing, and even silly and light, but always with a twist of critical observation, and nearly always in provocative and bold tones.” More.
ORNAMENTA, THE BJC’S ANNUAL BENEFIT PARTY: MARCH 9, 2024, 7 P.M.
This year, Ornamenta will take place at 2640 Space. It includes a silent auction where you can bid on beautiful pieces of art jewelry, as well as a raffle full of goodies. Your finest cocktail attire is requested, and this year is inspired by all things sapphire. Tickets are available on the BJC’s website, here. And even if you’re not in Baltimore, there are ways you can support the BJC’s annual fundraiser.
BIJOUX! MARCH 21–23, 2024
The annual international jewelry exhibition and sale returns to The Boca Raton Museum of Art. Purchase unique works of art jewelry directly from the creators, participate in curated tours, lectures, special events, and more! Info.
GET A 10% DISCOUNT ON MASTERCLASSES AT THE 2ND LISBON JEWELRY BIENNIAL
Lin Cheung and Manuel Vilhena will teach the masterclasses June 22–26, 2024. Cheung will teach around the theme of “Hope,” and Vilhena about “jewelry in action.” This relates to the overall theme of the biennial, with its focus on political jewels and jewels of power. (2024 marks the 50th anniversary of Portugal becoming democratic.) There will also be 20+ exhibitions; schools meetings; a galleries showroom June 28–30; and a colloquium June 27–29. The colloquium program will be announced soon, but registration is already open for it and for masterclasses. AJF members receive 10% off on the masterclasses and colloquium. More.
THE JEWELRY JOURNEY INTERVIEWED TABOO’S JANE GROOVER
Find out how Taboo Studio was established, where the gallery got its name, and why Taboo Studio focuses on both showcasing jewelry and making custom pieces. Also learn what Groover looks for when finding new artists. Listen to the podcast here.
MAD ABOUT JEWELRY 2024: MAY 5–8, 2024
At the Museum of Arts and Design’s annual benefit sale of contemporary jewelry, you’ll find work by 50 artists from 19 countries. A gala brunch and preview shopping for ticket purchasers takes place May 4. MAD About Jewelry has become known as the ultimate pop-up shop for contemporary, artist-made jewelry, where collectors and jewelry enthusiasts have the rare opportunity to meet and acquire pieces from some of the most innovative creators in the field. MAD About Jewelry is free with museum admission. Save the date. More information coming soon!
PETER SKUBIC HAS DIED, HE WAS 88
Born in Gornji Milanovac in 1935, Skubic has had a lasting influence as an artist, curator, networker, and teacher. He studied in the goldsmithing class at the Academy of Applied Arts Vienna. From the 1960s on, he created jewelry works with a sculptural character that attracted international attention. The central design principles of his works—often made of stainless steel—were clarity of proportion, precision, and radical minimalism. The “mirror objects” created since the late 1990s appear like a postmodern commentary on his own early work. Skubic died on February 1, 2024, in his farmhouse in the Burgenland region of Austria. He inspired generations of jewelry designers and artists.
CINDI STRAUSS NAMED HONORARY FELLOW OF THE AMERICAN CRAFT COUNCIL
Congratulations! As the Sara and Bill Morgan Curator of Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design and Assistant Director, Programming at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Strauss is responsible for the acquisition, research, publication, and exhibition of post-1900 decorative arts, design, and craft. Over the course of her career, she has curated numerous major craft-based exhibitions including Ornament as Art: Contemporary Jewelry from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection (2007). She co-authored the book In Flux: American Jewelry and the Counterculture (2020). Strauss serves as Chair of AJF’s Editorial Advisory Committee. More.
MARGIT JÄSCHKE: KAIROS—THROUGH APRIL 28, 2024
The Museum für Kunst & Gewerbe Hamburg is showcasing the 30-year oeuvre of the multi-award-winning artist. Jäschke describes herself as a wanderer between different art worlds, having created an entirely original body of work that straddles the boundaries between jewelry, installation, painting, and sculpture. She makes no distinction between wearable jewelry and autonomous artwork, so that graphic elements can be found in her jewelry while, conversely, jewelry becomes part of her paintings and collages. More.
GEORG DOBLER NAMED 2024 KLASSIKER DER MODERNE
Congratulations to Georg Dobler on being named the 2024 “Klassiker der Moderne” (Modern Classic). This honor, accompanied by a retrospective exhibition, is given each year during the Munich-based Schmuck exhibition to an artist who has made an important contribution to contemporary jewelry history. The artist, who lives in Halle an der Saale, was Professor of Jewellery and Objects at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hildesheim from 2002 to 2017. More.
OTHER NEWS
HANDWERK & DESIGN IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER: FEBRUARY 28–MARCH 3, 2024
The fair will present the finest craftsmanship and first-class contemporary arts and crafts at the Munich fairground. With its prestigious galleries, FRAME will form a framework around the most important show of contemporary author jewelry, Schmuck. More.
SEE SIGURD BRONGER. WEARABLES: MARCH 2–JUNE 2, 2024
Die Neue Sammlung, in Munich, will present the work of Sigurd Bronger, whose artistic language is unique not only in Norway, but worldwide, in his first solo exhibition outside his home country. The opening takes place March 1, at 7 p.m. Curated by Dr. Petra Hölscher, Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum. More.
LYNDA WATSON RECOGNIZED AS A FELLOW OF THE AMERICAN CRAFT COUNCIL
Watson did undergraduate work in drawing and illustration, crafts and jewelry, and received an MA and MFA in jewelry/metalsmithing from California State University, Long Beach. In 1970, she was hired to build the Jewelry/Metals Program at Cabrillo College in Aptos, CA, where she taught full-time for 25 years. She was awarded two individual National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships and was selected as Master Metalsmith by the Metal Museum in 2022. Congratulations! More.
RESIN TAKES THE SPOTLIGHT
Designers are accenting the substance, naturally derived from tree sap, with gold and precious gems. More.
SEE KANKAN – KIRAKIRA – DOKIDOKI AT DIE NEUE SAMMLUNG – THE DESIGN MUSEUM
Works by students and graduates of the jewelry class at Kobe Design University will be on display. Regarding the exhibition’s title, these words are onomatopoeia and mean the sound of the hammer when making jewelry ‒ looking at jewelry ‒ the feeling when wearing jewelry. On view March 2–April 1, 2024, with the opening taking place March 1. More.
AARON MACSAI AND FRANCES KITE FEATURED IN ORNAMENT MAGAZINE
In their collaborative jewelry, each member of the couple focuses on different techniques. Although they came to their ideas about craft and design by different routes, they both believe that jewelry should be wearable, and that craftsmanship is paramount. Among other recognitions, they received the 2023 Smithsonian Craft Show Excellence in Jewelry Award. More.
SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED FOR THE SEATTLE METALS GUILD 2024 LECTURE SERIES
They are Nanz Aalund, on the future of apprenticeships (March 14); Esther Ervin, on an installation in the Liberty Bank Building (April 11); Joshua Kopel ,on making boxes (May 9); and Rachel Morris, on pricing work (February 7). Registration is now open. More.
MUSICIAN JOSUÉ THOMAS SPORTS A SHOWY BROOCH
In another example of guys wearing brooches, the musician joined Miami’s creative crowd at The Art of Giving Back, a silent auction and exhibition benefiting the charity organization Dolphins Challenge Cancer, which took place January 8, 2024. No info on who made the brooch. More.
THE JEWELRY COLLECTION OF THE LATE ORNAMENT COEDITOR CAROLYN LOUISE EVA BENESH
Whenever she purchased a piece of jewelry from somebody, it was never just a transaction; it was a reciprocal exchange of respect and recognition. Sometimes only a few words were imparted, at other times, a whole conversation preceded the final purchase. This happened whether the maker was an old acquaintance or someone she’d just met. More in Ornament magazine.
“EVERYBODY’S BOLOS” SYMPOSIUM: FEBRUARY 24
With an exhibition that includes bolos by Lola Brooks, Kat Cole, Sean Eren, Jillian Moore, Wyatt Nestor-Pasicznyk, JJ Otero, and Jodi Webster. Presenters: Ana Lopez, Norman Sandfield, Brian Fleetwood, Hannah Toussaint, Dr. Jessica Metcalfe, Sulo Bee, and Annette Becker. At the University of North Texas. Info.
HOW MANY RINGS IS TOO MANY?
Does stacking lotsa jewelry look tacky, as some people think? Recent looks on the red carpet looks would suggest that concern is out of touch. More.
OPPORTUNITIES
OPEN CALL: GOLDSMITH’S FAIR
Jewellers and metalsmiths working with precious metals are invited to apply to exhibit and sell their work at Goldsmiths’ Fair 2024. Deadline: February 29, 2024. Info.
WIN SOME RESIN EARRINGS BY KAZ ROBERTSON
The maker’s itching to bring a new color to her work and wants your opinion on what shade. After she chooses her favorite, everyone who made recommendations will be added to a drawing to win a pair of her super-sized resin studs in the new color! Email her your color suggestion here.
SNAG EDUCATIONAL ENDOWMENT
The SNAG Educational Endowment exists to provide access to educational opportunities for students and professionals looking to broaden their education in the metalsmithing and jewelry field. For the 2024 funding cycle ending June 30, 2025, there is a total of $10,000 to be awarded to recipients. Deadline: April 15, 2024. Info.
SNAG IMPACT AWARDS
Presented to two practitioners whose hand-crafted work has demonstrated notable impact in the areas of socially responsible practice, sustainability, technical innovation, and/or creative innovation, this initiative celebrates and supports those making extraordinary contributions to jewelry and metalsmithing. Awardees receive an unrestricted $3,000 prize, a $1,000 stipend and registration pass to attend and speak at the 2024 SNAG conference, and more. Deadline: March 17, 2024. Info.
METALWERX ONLINE SPRING SYMPOSIUM: APRIL 1–5, 2024
Metalsmiths, jewelry artists, and makers of all experience levels are invited to gather online for live demonstrations and studio tours with new and established artists from around the country. Learn new skills and techniques, broaden your jewelry and metalsmithing knowledge, take a peek into fellow artists’ studios and bodies of work, and be inspired as spring begins. Info.
PAGES
BOOK—SIGURD BRONGER: WEARABLES
Goose eggs, natural sponges, balloons, shoe soles, scientific devices, even his mother’s gallstones—the things turned into decorative objects knows no limits for the Norwegian artist. For Bronger, jewelry is a means of communication. The questions he asks with his works relate to function and utility, decor, aesthetics, and beauty, and his works challenge us to see things in a new way: Does the beautiful really have to be useless and the practical have to be aesthetically uninteresting? More.
BOOK—GERTI MACHACEK: JEWELLERY SCULPTURE
This monograph offers comprehensive insights into the work of an Austrian art jewelry pioneer. Her ideas comprise thrilling combinations of figurative evolution, architectural development, and a richly layered sense of humor. Info.
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