July 2025, Part 2

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.

EVENTS
We have a dedicated page for them. Go here to see the list.

FROM OUR MEMBERS

THE BJC IS HIRING AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The Baltimore Jewelry Center seeks a visionary leader to take it into its next chapter as founding director Shane Prada departs. This hands-on role blends strategy and community engagement, requiring collaboration with staff, board, and artists to expand the organization’s reach and impact. The BJC is looking for a leader committed to arts education, transparency, and service, ready to guide day-to-day operations while strengthening its national and international profile. Salary: $80,000–$95,000, based on experience. Benefits include health insurance, retirement plan, generous PTO, access to the BJC studio, class discounts, and a professional development stipend. Join in shaping BJC’s bold future. More.

KEITH LEWIS | SELECTED WORKS: 1988–1995, FOR SALE AT GALLERY LOUPE
The late 1980s and early 1990s were marked by the AIDS crisis, which affected countless lives and sparked endless conversations about identity and resilience. During this period, Heidi Endemann and her husband, Don, were introduced to Lewis’s work at the former Susan Cummins Gallery. They were struck by the strength both the artist and gallerist displayed in showcasing these works. Each piece in their collection—which is now for sale at Loupe—speaks to the power of Lewis’s artistic expression and its capacity to reflect the human experience. Although created to address a specific time, the message still resonates today. View the catalog here; see the price list here. Contact the gallery at 973-865-6194, or email.

AARON DECKER: NO ASSEMBLY REQUIRED, AT ORNAMENTUM THROUGH AUGUST 10, 2025
The exhibition title is a tongue-in-cheek nod to the meticulousness required to produce Decker’s new body of work. He states, “Lately, everything feels like it’s falling apart—it’s overwhelming. So instead of the usually solid surfaces I work on, I’m breaking it all apart, and showing the act of holding it all together.” Decker’s new work takes imagery from military patches, badges, and symbols, breaks them down to their elemental shapes, and stitches them back together, showing how even the strongest of forms can still be fragile. 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 with us—its forms, its meanings, its beauty. 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. To wear such a piece is to carry a fragment of the world’s wonder. Beauty is not always fixed or perfect—but fleeting, complex, and deeply human. At Sienna Patti, through August 31, 2025. More.

IN MOTION—KINETIC JEWELRY AT GLG
Ellyse Bendillo and Kate Dannenberg, of Night Shift Studio, co-curated 11 metalsmiths who create jewelry that moves and transforms when worn or displayed. These established artists and emerging voices all work at a high technical level. At Gravers Lane Gallery, through August 28, 2025. Reception August 1, 5–8 p.m., with a curator talk. More.

CHECK OUT THE “WOW EFFECT!” CATALOG
This PDF—available for free download—documents the 33rd International Jewellery Competition, the highlight of the Legnica Jewellery Festival SILVER 2025. Artists from around the world, including goldsmiths, designers, and both professional and amateur jewelry makers, were invited to take part. A total of 268 artists from 42 countries submitted their works. The jury selected pieces by 44 artists representing 22 countries, which are featured in the post-competition exhibition. More.

THE STORY SO FAR: HELEN BRITTON, OPENS AUGUST 28
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. At Australian Design Centre, August 28–October 4, 2025. Opening: August 27, 6–8 p.m.

JEWELRY NOW: THE CURATORS’ EDIT
Presents a snapshot of inspirational jewelry made by some of the best and most interesting designer jewelers from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. From the most experienced to those making exceptional work at the start of their careers, discover breathtaking technical skills, exciting experimentation with materials, innovative processes and imaginative responses to grave ethical and environmental concerns. Co-curated by AJF member Dr. Elizabeth Goring and Gregory Parsons. At Ruthin Craft Centre, Ruthin, Denbighshire, UK, through September 21, 2025. More.

BJC SEEKS EXHIBITION PROPOSALS FOR 2027–2028
The Baltimore Jewelry Center is seeking exhibition proposals for its 2027–2028 gallery schedule. It welcomes proposals beyond traditional jewelry, including thematic shows or group/solo exhibitions. The BJC is interested in curatorial concepts that challenge the gallery format, connect jewelry and craft to broader contexts, and engage diverse communities. The goal is to highlight unique curatorial voices, introduce fresh makers and ideas, and present art jewelry within a wider art dialogue. Proposals that foster inclusivity and elevate underrepresented voices are especially encouraged. Proposals should reflect an understanding of the gallery’s scale and dimensions. Help shape an exciting, thought-provoking exhibition season! Additional info.

THE POWER OF THE PEARL AND ITS ENDURING ALLURE
Adorning wearers from the ancient Romans to Queen Victoria, the pearl remains the longest consistently venerated gemstone. Explore the topic in an article from the European Fine Art Foundation here.

HELENA JOHANSSON LINDELL, AT KONSTMUSEET, SKÖVDE KULTURHUS, SWEDEN
The jewelry and objects in this exhibition are anything but traditional. The artist mixes both colors and materials wildly and likes to reuse plastic, wood, and textiles. Often, you’ll recognize parts from both toys and household utensils. They’ve been given completely new lives and meanings. Through August 17, 2025. More.

CATHERINE BLACKBURN IN THE RUNNING FOR SALT SPRING NATIONAL ART PRIZE
The maker, who was a finalist for the 2023 Susan Beech Mid-Career Grant, is among 53 artists selected for an exhibition that represents a powerful cross-section of contemporary Canadian visual art. Their work will be exhibited at Mahon Hall, on Salt Spring Island, September 27–October 19, 2025. Find out about her work here.

OTHER NEWS

APPLY FOR THE MONTEBELLO AND/OR BERGESIO PRIZES
The Montebello, with a purse of 2,500€, is open to students who have created a jewel or a capsule collection with innovative characteristics: conceptual, formal, use of materials with traditional or digital techniques. The Bergesio, which awards 800€, is for a critical essay dealing with the most current issues in contemporary jewelry. Deadline: July 20, 2025. More.

COCKS AND CUNTS STARTS JULY 25, 2025, AT THE WEARHOUSE
Artists from the global jewelry community explore how the representation of genitalia can become a declaration of identity, confidence, joy, and freedom. These works do not hide. They manifest joy, explore desire, question gender, and celebrate life, with the body as a site of pride and protest. Through August 2, 2025. More.

THREE JEWELERS AT GALLERY MARZEE THROUGH AUGUST 20, 2025
See these exhibitions: Genevieve Howard: The Dawn Chorus, Graziano Visintin: Jewellery, and Julia Walter: Mother Earth. More.

AMBERIF, SEPTEMBER 4–6, 2025
The AMBERIF International Amber and Jewelry Fair takes place twice a year, in Gdańsk, Poland, but only the autumn fair is open to the public. The historical tradition of processing this material continues, contributing to the heritage of centuries-old material culture. More.

WATCH A SHORT VIDEO ABOUT ASHLEY BUCHANAN
Spend five minutes with the contemporary jewelry maker who combines historical references with a modern aesthetic in powder-coated metal. From the American Craft Council. Watch here.

THE NEWEST JOURNAL OF JEWELLERY RESEARCH HAS PUBLISHED
With articles by Roberta Bernabei, Eliana Negroni, Sofie Boons, Elena Karpilova, Simona Preda, Ebba Van der Taelen, Molly Warkins, and Simone van den Broek. Get the free PDF here.

IT’S A GREAT TIME TO BE A TOE RIGHT NOW
… if you’re into fashion, that is. On runways and sidewalks, shoes and accessories of the moment are accentuating our little piggies. More.

EDUCATION

WORKSHOP: JEWELLERY FROM PLASTIC DEBRIS
Working with gathered marine plastics, soft plastic bags, and domestic plastics, Melinda Young will teach a range of simple jewelry-making techniques including drilling, stitching, stringing, and cordage. You’ll apply these techniques to create wearable objects. July 26, 2025, at Australian Design Centre, in Darlinghurst NSW. Tickets here.

WORKSHOP: RAZZLE-DAZZLE FOR ENAMELING
Have you ever admired the iridescent wings of a butterfly or raven? Want to jazz up your enamels with some sparkle? Instructor Andrew Thornton will go over how to prepare enameled surfaces, discuss what different products accomplish, and then you’ll add color and shimmer to your enameled creations. At Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA, US, August 9, 2025. More.

PAINTING WITH POWDERED METALS
Bette Barnett teaches a new metal-fusing technique: using powdered metals as paint to create beautiful hues, shades, and designs on steel pieces for jewelry. At Metalwerx, in Waltham, MA, US, July 23–24, 2025. More.

MOROCCO JEWELRY TOUR WITH SOPHIE CARNELL
Design your own piece and cast it in silver in the Sahara. Also enjoy art, architecture, food, and music while exploring Marrakech on a tour that focuses on traditional and contemporary jewelry in Morocco. You’ll take away a piece (or pieces) of jewelry that will be forever imbued with memories of this trip. More.

PAGES

MARCUS & CO.: THREE GENERATIONS OF NEW YORK JEWELERS
The New York jewelry firm of Marcus & Co. (1892–1942) created exceptional Art Nouveau and Art Deco jewelry for a wealthy elite. Innovative in its collaboration with artists and in its captivating window displays and ads, the firm captured the imagination of Gilded Age families such as the Rockefellers. This book chronicles its story, from the founder’s apprenticeship to its grand premises on Fifth Avenue, near Tiffany & Co. and Cartier. By Sheila Barron Smithie and Beth Carver Wees, published by Arnoldsche. More.

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.

© 2025 Art Jewelry Forum. All rights reserved. Content may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission. For reprint permission, contact info (at) artjewelryforum (dot) org