The Rings of Saturn June 6–October 19, 2014 Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, England Take any length of string, wire, or chain, link it together at one end, and you have a necklace. This simple construction can then be embellished with, theoretically, anything, as long as it can be attached in some way to the necklace […]
This Is One I Made Earlier Read More »
The Gijs+Emmy Spectacle February 22–August 24, 2014 Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Curated by Marjan Boot View of the original Stedelijk Museum (A.W. Weissman, 1895) and the new building designed by Benthem Crouwel Architects, from the museum’s website, photo: John Lewis Marshall Five years. In 2012, after a shutdown, renovation, and enlargement that lasted
De show van Gijs+Emmy/The Gijs+Emmy Spectacle Read More »
Unique by Design: Contemporary Jewelry in the Donna Schneier Collection May 13–August 31, 2014 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York A collection always bears its own narrative. This narrative is usually inspired by a folksy story about the first acquisition, a heralded inaugural object that serves as a kind of synecdoche that characterizes and sets
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Matthew Hart, GOLD: The Race for the World’s Most Seductive Metal. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2013 ISBN 978-1451650020 “What are you reading?” I nearly knocked over my coffee in surprise when the smoky voice of the waiter cut through my focus. At the dining counter, Gold, Matthew Hart’s newest 290-page work of nonfiction,
Dark and Lustrous Adventures Read More »
Legnica Jewellery Festival SILVER April 22–June 8, 2014 The Gallery of Art in Legnica, Legnica, Poland Before I embarked from Edinburgh, Scotland, via Berlin, for Legnica (pronounced Leg’nitsa), Poland, a university colleague quipped, “Break a Legnica.”[1] At the time it made me laugh. I don’t know if you are familiar with the expression, understand the
The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk October 25, 2013–February 23, 2014, Brooklyn, New York, USA Brooklyn Museum, curated by Thierry-Maxime Loriot of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in collaboration with Maison Jean Paul Gaultier, Paris Body corset worn by Madonna for the Blond Ambition World Tour, 1990,
Show and Tell: Calder Jewelry and Mobiles November 5–December 20, 2013 Salon 94, New York, New York, USA Alexander Calder, Black Metal Mask, ca.1940, painted metal; earrings, ca. 1942, silver, steel, each 76 x 117 mm, photo: Salon 94 Hand-hammered jewelry was a mainstay of Calder’s practice. Throughout his career, he created more than 2000
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Dans la ligne de mire. Scènes du bijou contemporain en France September 20, 2013–March 2, 2014 Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France Circuits bijoux, parcours du bijou contemporain (“Jewel circuit, a route/itinerary of contemporary jewelry”) is one of the most ambitious cultural events concerning contemporary jewelry to take place in the past 10 years in Europe,
Between Two Sovereignties: Artists and Tradition Read More »
JOYA 2013 was the fifth edition of a now-international fair that was born as “Joyas a la Carta” in 2007—a mainly local event to promote contemporary jewelry that followed the models of other fashion events taking place in Barcelona. The initiative to promote contemporary jewelry took form under the care and direction of Paulo Ribeiro
Heading South to Grow Up International Read More »
Shift October 18–November 21, 2013 Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA Exhibition overview, Shift, 2013, Grunwald Gallery, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, photo: Michelle Given Within the American Midwest, it is a rare opportunity to come across exhibitions of contemporary jewelry or galleries with an art-jewelry focus. It is neither Germany nor the Netherlands, and with the
Since 2005, AJF has been funding catalogs and exhibitions as part of its aim to advocate for contemporary art jewelry through education, appreciation, and support for the field. AJF believes that exhibitions and catalogs are an essential part of the contemporary art jewelry infrastructure, by documenting history, fostering curatorial skills, providing opportunities for writing about contemporary art
Overall view of the exhibition hall, Sieraad International Jewellery Art Fair, Amsterdam, photo: Ward Schrijver November 7–10, 2013 Every September, the Gashouder (“gasholder’”) in Amsterdam is a bit like the biblical Tower of Babel. During the Sieraad (“jewel”) International Jewellery Art Fair, many languages are spoken by both the participating artists—of whom only 35 percent
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