Articles

Elyse Zorn Karlin loves jewelry, usually traditional or historical jewelry and she has dedicated herself to curating and writing about it. Along with Yvonne Markowitz from the MFA Boston, she is the founder of the Association for the Study of Jewelry and Related Arts (ASJRA). She also is their trip organizer, the editor of their biweekly newsletter and their quarterly magazine. ASJRA  is dedicated to the advancement of jewelry studies. This organization and AJF have worked together on several projects and AJF asked Elyse to join with Ursula Ilse-Neumann, MAD curator to lead a walkthrough of the SOFA New York show on April 21, 2012. Ursula and Elyse picked their favorite pieces from the jewelry galleries showing at the fair and explained their choices. I have asked Elyse about her favorite piece to add to our series of Curator Choices.

My Jade Ring

My favorite piece of jewelry is a jade ring which I wear every day. It was given to me a number of years ago by a dear friend and I feel naked without it. The ring’s design is carved into real jadeite – one of the two stones collectively known as jade. The highly three-dimensional design features a carved bat, known as fu in Chinese and a symbol of good luck and two peaches. The depiction of double peaches is a symbol for long life.

Inside the Silver, Blue and Gold Gallery Susan Cummins- Did you name your gallery after the song Silver, Blue and Gold by Bad Company? How did you come by the name? Karin Worden- Well, yes, but I rarely admit it! I spent the first year telling people it was because the jewelry shown was silver

Meghan Patrice Riley, Interstitial, 2011, 
metal, 
12 x 15 x 0.25 inches, 
Photo: Toky Photography Mari Ishikawa,
 Parallel World, 2011,
 silver, Japanese kozo paper, 
3.5 x 3.3 x 1.75 inches, 
Photo: Dirk Eisel Daniel DiCaprio, Colony Necklace, 2011, ebony, silver, 
12 x 8 x 2 inches,
 Photo: Taylor Dabney Elizabeth Raphael The show is documented

Facere Gallery Susan Cummins: Karen, I know you have written a tell-all book called Building a Business, Building a Life: A Memoir and Workbook, but can you give me a condensed history of your background? How did you become interested in jewelry and what led you to start the gallery? Cover of Building a Business,

Kevin Coates,‘Labyrinthus Hic Habitat Minotaurus’, 2000, 20ct gold, picrolite, white gold. Stand: red stone, ebony All objects can tell stories to those prepared to listen; jewels, by their very nature, are perhaps able to relate the most personal. The story of the piece I have chosen from my own collection of jewelry is one of

Joyce Scott, Run Down On the Highway of Love, 1986, mixed media A Cautionary Tale I often tell clients who are hesitant about buying a piece of artwork that they should think about it for a while. If it haunts them, they should seriously consider purchasing it or someone else may scoop it up. From

Marion Fulk I have asked Marion Fulk to contribute to the ongoing series of Collector’s Choice. She is a new member of the board at AJF and an impressive contemporary jewelry collector from Little Rock, Arkansas.   My favorite piece of jewelry is the necklace I wore to my wedding in November 2009. The wedding was

Collaborative Candleholders Susan Cummins: Can you tell me something about the history of your gallery and how you got interested in showing metalwork and jewelry?  Rosemarie Jaeger: The gallery was founded in 1989 in a baroque listed building in Hochheim near Frankfurt. For the first decade ceramics and sculptures were the main themes of the

Sofia Bjorkman Marta Mattsson, Black Beetle, brooch, 2011, beetle, copper, cubic zirconia, 80 x 30 x 20 mm  Susan Cummins: Can you give me some insight into your fascination with the repulsive? Marta Mattsson I have always been drawn to both biology and art and when I was growing up I had a personal battle,