Articles

Ulysses Dietz

Ulysses Dietz It is always cruel to ask a curator to pinpoint his or her favorite object. I have 40,000 things under my stewardship, ranging from the late 1400s to the present day and while some of them I frankly don’t care if I ever see again, there are many I love to the point […]

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Sara Morgan

Sara Morgan I have been asked to do the impossible about the jewelry I collect: write about the one that got away, or write about my favorite piece. I could tell you about some of my favorite former pieces that got away because I decided to stick them in my suitcase at the last minute

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The Transcendent Jewelry of Margaret De Patta: Vision in Motion

This essay was first delivered at SOFA NY in April 2012 as an AJF-sponsored talk. The lecture has been modified to meet the format and needs of the AJF website. Margaret De Patta, Untitled Painting, c. 1917-21, gouche on paper, Margaret De Patta Archives, Bielawski Trust, Point Richmond, California Margaret Strong was born in Tacoma,

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Rose Watban

Lucy Sarneel Rose Watban is the Senior Curator of Applied Art and Design at the National Museums Scotland. She is responsible for European glass, jewelry and contemporary craft. Just at this very moment the museum is featuring a jewelry exhibition called A Sense of Place: New Jewellery from Northern Lands, which includes sixteen jewelers from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Scotland. I asked Rose to contribute to our ongoing series called Curator’s Choice and to tell us about how she decided on her favorite piece.

My favorite piece of jewelry

Giovanni Corvaja, Wendy Ramshaw, Gijs Bakker, David Watkins, Fritz Maierhofer, Jan Yager and Kevin Coates are just a few of the important makers represented in National Museums Scotland’s jewelry collection. This amazing collection was mainly acquired by Dr Elizabeth Goring, a colleague and good friend and to whom I am grateful for her generously given help and advice when I began curating the collection.

I thought long and hard about which piece I should choose. There were many candidates and a great many reasons attached to the contenders but in the end, surprisingly, my favorite piece is not one of the seminal works acquired by Liz but a brooch by Lucy Sarneel. I first saw Lucy’s work at Collect, the London Art fair, in 2007 where she was being shown at Galerie Marzee and was I was stuck by both the simplicity of her work and the exquisite craftsmanship. Although I had previously made acquisitions for the collection, I had always discussed them with Liz and how they fitted in with the existing works and our collecting policy. This time I was alone and although I had a gut feeling that Lucy’s work should be in the collection I’m afraid to say that I didn’t have the faith in my own judgment to make a decision and so did not make a purchase.

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IdioSINcratic

Jessica Calderwood, Buckstalker Muzzleloader, 2012, Brooch, enamel on copper, sterling silver, recycled patterned copper, stainless steel, 1 x 3.75 inches Susan Cummins: I understand that you feature antique and contemporary jewelry in your gallery and have an interest in both. Do you ever organize exhibitions that combine the antique and contemporary jewelry? If so please

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Mari Shaw

Mari Shaw My Favorite Either I am very fickle or very full-hearted, because whatever piece of jewelry I am wearing is my favorite. However fascinated I am by a piece lying in a beautiful case, my experience of the displayed jewelry does not compare with the magic of the one surrounding my neck, attached to

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New Work: Renee Bevan

Renee Bevan, Parting Breath, Pendant, 2012, silver, electroformed balloon, spraypaint, 460 x 60 x 40 mm Susan Cummins:  Since the earthquake destroyed your building, where are you presenting this show of new work by Renee Bevan? Caroline Billing: I recently set up the gallery in a new space with other creative businesses in one of

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