July 2026, Part 2
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.
TRAVEL TO HOUSTON WITH AJF: SEPTEMBER 23–26, 2026
For our first visit back to Houston in almost 20 years, we’re arriving at an especially strong moment. We’ll visit the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, to celebrate two important exhibitions: the first US solo presentations of Bernhard Schobinger and Dorothea Prühl, both key figures in avant-garde art jewelry. Each exhibition spans nearly 50 years of work. To complement the exhibitions, we’ll attend a day-long symposium featuring leading voices in the field, followed by a reception celebrating these two exhibitions—an opportunity to gather with fellow collectors, artists, and enthusiasts. Our program will also include visits to the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, along with artist studios, museum collections, and other stops that reflect the breadth of the city’s creative life. If you’re interested in attending, please email danielle@artjewelryforum.org.
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
CHECK OUT THE PROGRAM FOR 3RD LISBON CONTEMPORARY JEWELLERY BIENNIAL
With the theme of “Coexistences,” the program includes exhibitions, a colloquium, a gallery expo, and master classes. Takes place September 19–27, 2026, with many of the shows lasting beyond those dates. Info.
GERALDINE FENN: DISPATCH FROM THE COLONIES—CATALOG NOW IN AJF’S DIGITAL LIBRARY
Fenn won the inaugural AJF Solo Exhibition Award. Her resulting show, on view at Galerie Noel Guyomarc’h, explored power dynamics linked to the European colonization of Africa. She drew inspiration from cabinets of curiosities in reverse: rather than displaying the colonized, she transforms the colonizers into exotic objects. Find it here.
APPLY FOR EARRINGS GALORE 2026/27
Earrings Galore, organized annually by Heidi Lowe Gallery, is a juried exhibition of a rich and diverse array of earrings made by 60 emerging and established studio jewelers. Each artist’s unique approach to the earring format will be represented in a cohesive grouping of six pairs. The grouping should show that it is made with intention, attention to detail, and that its functionality is considered. The exhibition is intended to create more access for the public to engage with art jewelry, cultivate connections with the community, and provide opportunities for people to add to their jewelry collection. Deadline: September 13, 2026. Apply here.
SHEILA WESTERA FEATURED IN LIJM’S “ROOM WITH A VIEW”
The Dutch-born artist grew up in the fine jewelry field via her family, then studied the history of art and architecture in Amsterdam while working in the diamond and fine jewelry field, learning technical skills while questioning the need for adornment. Along with exploring antique jewelry, she developed an interest in contemporary jewelry, and attended different jewelry courses over the years. Westera settled in Switzerland around 2017. See the editorial here.
Sheila Westera, Conversation Pieces Collection—Nepheria, photo drawn from lostinjewellerymagazine.com
MARTINA DEMPF SHOWS TWO ARTISTS
Dempf is holding a special exhibition at her studio. In War/Love, on view through August 1, 2026, Nioosha Vazzadeh, from Iran, and Chidimma Omeke, from Nigeria, present their unique jewelry, which draws deep and critical parallels with life in their respective homelands. Both artists now live in Germany, where they completed their master’s degrees at Trier University of Applied Sciences, in the Department of Gemstone Design at the Idar-Oberstein campus. Info.
ONLINE WORKSHOP: CRAFT YOUR ARTIST STATEMENT WITH JENNIFER ALTMANN
Draft your unique artist statement and express your vision clearly! The San Francisco Metal Arts Guild will host a fun, interactive session during which Altmann will guide you through tips and tricks to create a compelling artist statement that truly reflects your work. Whether you’re just starting or want to refine your message, this event is perfect for getting your ideas down with confidence! August 2, 2026, 11 am–12:30 pm local time. Info and registration here.
32ND ANNUAL NORTHWEST JEWELRY & METALS SYMPOSIUM: OCTOBER 10, 2026
Speakers: Jaydan Moore, Jennifer Younger, Maria Cristalli, Ana María Jiménez, and Demitra Thomloudis, who is an AJF member. Attend in person at Broadway Performance Hall, in Seattle, WA, or tune in via livestream. Purchase tickets—get early-bird pricing through August 31, 2026—here.
CHECK OUT PXL-MAD GRADUATE JULIA BOIX-VIVES’S THESIS
Jewelry has the power to dramatize performance. It induces the artistic gesture in the wearer because it inherently relates to the body. Inspired by the ritual of a woman in front of her mirror, Boix-Vives creates a dreamlike universe where gesture becomes the principal character. And because everything is concentrated in this restricted space, it occurs like a powerful wave; in this sense, Boix-Vives considers jewelry and objects monumental. Find her master’s thesis here. PXL-MAD is an AJF member school.
USE THIS DISCOUNT CODE TO TAKE CLASSES IN SNAG’S ONLINE “WORKSHOPPING WITH: SUMMER SERIES”
Explore technique-based skills, creative processes, and professional practices in jewelry and metalsmithing. Topics include 3D Printing in the Jewelry Studio, with Atinuke Osibogun-Adeleke (July 21, 2026); Marketing Plans Made Simple, with Liz Kantner (July 28, 2026); and Fabric Jewellery: Metal Techniques in Textiles, with Louise Perrone (August 1, 2026). As a member of AJF’s community, enjoy 10% off registration—use code AJF10 at checkout. Info and registration here.
JÜRGEN EICKHOFF HAS PASSED AWAY, HE WAS 72
Between the gallery he opened in Munich in 1981—Galerie Spektrum—and his own practice, Eickhoff was a pioneer in contemporary jewelry. Spektrum originally showed glass, ceramics, jewelry, and paper works. After the first year, he and his partner concluded it would be best to focus on just one thing. “So we selected the one we … thought was the most avant-garde,” he said: contemporary art jewelry. (From AJF’s interview with the gallerist, here.) Eickhoff supported and inspired many in the field. Our condolences to his partner, Marianne Schliwinski.
CALL FOR ARTICLES: THE VESSEL 12
Guest editors Sofie Boons and Anneleen Swillen invite submissions exploring the notion of the studio in motion. They specifically seek craft practices that exist in shifting contexts, where making adapts to movement, embraces constraints, or unfolds across changing locations. They plan to feature submissions in the form of triptychs that evoke dialogue among the images and collectively articulate the diverse, portable, and evolving nature of dispersed studio practices. Info. Swillen is faculty at AJF member school PXL-MAD.
HAROLD O’CONNOR TO GIVE TALK AT METALWERX AUGUST 20, 2026
The AJF member is one of a dozen speakers giving weekly presentations through mid-September. Thursdays, in Waltham, MA, US. Free, with light refreshments. Info.
CONSTELLATIONS OPENS AT CHRYSLER MUSEUM JULY 10, 2026
Features 350+ works of wearable art showcasing nearly a century of creativity from jewelry artists across the globe. Explores the myriad ways artists have reimagined jewelry, revealing an extraordinary range of materials, forms, and ideas. Featuring golden crowns formed to look like cardboard, enchanting necklaces made from plastic bags, and whimsical brooches resembling toast, Constellations captures the depth, breadth, and diversity of contemporary jewelry design. More.
COEXISTÊNCIAS/COEXISTENCES COLLOQUIUM: SEPTEMBER 25–26, 2026, AT MUDE LISBON
All talks will be in English. Session 1: Sentient Materiality, with Irma Foldenyi, Ngarino Lewis, and Joani Groenewald; moderated by Patricia Domingues. Session 2: Otherness, with Francisca Carvalho, Harald Bentz Høgseth, and Saskia Kolff-van Es. Session 3: Technopoetry, with Anneleen Swillen, Edu Tarin, and Conversation Piece. For more information, times, and registration, go here.
NEWS FROM ALL AROUND
REMINDER—OPEN CALL FOR PAPERS FOR THE JOURNAL OF JEWELLERY RESEARCH 2026
JJR supports jewelry-related research into craft/digital practice, materials, techniques, methodologies, social practice, concepts, and aesthetics. It welcomes papers that investigate jewelry design, craft, theory. It welcomes exhibition and books reviews, papers that echo a traditional journal format, and visual/textual papers. Full guidelines and details here. Send submissions to informationjjr@gmail.com.
APPLY FOR THE SCHMUCK SPECIAL SHOW
Sixty-five or so pieces are selected for the annual international exhibition of art jewelry. Founded in 1959 by Dr Herbert Hofmann, it’s the oldest show of contemporary jewelry in the world. Deadline: October 1, 2026. Info here.
MUNICH JEWELLERY WEEK WILL STEP BACK FROM ORGANIZING THE MAP, STREET SIGNS, AND CITY-WIDE LOGISTICS
One of today’s most influential jewelry artists, Schobinger has been radically shifting the boundaries of jewelry for more than five decades. This monograph, published in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, reviews the Swiss avant-garde artist’s work and traces the course of his unusual career. The book features 50+ of his pivotal objects, among them 23 exceptional works from the Rotasa Collection Trust. The publication accompanies the museum’s exhibition of the same name—the artist’s first solo show in the United States. Available in September. More.
STORIES ON THE PLANET: ASAGI MAEDA, AT FULLER CRAFT MUSEUM
A gifted storyteller, the Japanese metalsmith creates miniature sculptural worlds designed to be worn on the body. Fabricated from wood, Plexi, resin, enamel, silver, gold, and precious stones—and often intricately engraved or enameled—the evocative artworks offer powerful reflections on everyday life. Swimmers, musicians, readers, and dancers express joy, tenderness, and sorrow. Even the smallest objects can hold entire worlds of feeling. Through November 28, 2026. Info.
TRANSMUTATION FILM PREMIERE AND ARTIST TALK: AUGUST 1, 2026, 4:45–8 PM
The film explores Hans Casanova’s artistic journey and the ideas that have shaped his practice over two decades. Its release accompanies the exhibition Transmutation: The Art of Hans Casanova, which presents dozens of one-of-a-kind works that blur the boundaries between jewelry and sculpture, showcasing metals and gemstones transformed through exceptional technical mastery. Casanova uses jewelry as a sculptural medium to explore transformation, time, memory, and the relationship between permanence and impermanence. Exhibition: August 1–September 30, 2026, at the War Memorial Veterans Gallery, first floor of the War Memorial Veterans Building, San Francisco; info. Film shown at Herbst Theatre in the War Memorial Veterans Building; info.
PAGES SPOTLIGHTING JEWELRY
GOING UNDERGROUND: THE JEWELS OF BERNHARD SCHOBINGER
One of today’s most influential jewelry artists, Schobinger has been radically shifting the boundaries of jewelry for more than five decades. This monograph, published in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, reviews the Swiss avant-garde artist’s work and traces the course of his unusual career. The book features 50+ of his pivotal objects, among them 23 exceptional works from the Rotasa Collection Trust. The publication accompanies the museum’s exhibition of the same name—the artist’s first solo show in the United States. Available in September. More.
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