‘You are only what you surround yourself with? No. You surround yourself only with who you are.’ (Rob Walker, Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are. Random House, 2008.)
Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box Read More »
Klaus Bürgel is an artist who defies categorization. Is he primarily a jeweler? Yes and no. Does he care if his pieces are wearable? Not particularly. Is he a graphic artist? Certainly. A sculptor? Definitely, even though he often works in non-durable materials such as styrofoam and occasionally creates pieces too big to leave his
Endless Conundrum: Klaus Bürgel Read More »
Arthur Smith, Neckpiece, 1948, brass, 7 x 8 x 1 1/4 inches, Museum of Arts & Design, New York, purchased by the American Craft Council, 1967, photo: John Bigelow Taylor The quality of most of the pieces is remarkable and reflects decades of collecting by the American Crafts Council through the museum (formerly the American
Inspired Jewelry: From the Museum of Arts and Design Read More »
Whether you would enjoy this weighty book (399 pages) or prefer to give it a pass depends on how you view yourself as a collector and how interested you are in the broad field of contemporary European (particularly German) jewelry.
Modern Jewellery Design Read More »
No one tells a story quite like Robin Kranitzky and Kim Overstreet. Each narrative is skillfully presented with just enough visual information to engage and please the ‘reader.’ Ultimately each work satisfies on its own merits, but always leaves the observer wanting just one more story from this talented duo, who seem to have an inexhaustible number of literary delights swimming in their collective heads, ready to become the next jewel.
Symbiotic Realms: Robin Kranitsky and Kim Overstreet – Selected Works 1985-2008 Read More »
Blah, Blah, Blah. Do you ever tire of words? It seems that we are inundated with them from the time we wake until we finally escape them in sleep. What to do short of exile? Relax, take a deep breath, and use your eyes for seeing, not reading! As children, we saw with wonder before we read with understanding. Let’s recapture that wonder and open a ‘picture book’.
What was the sound of the front door slamming? What kind of imprint would your living-room carpet leave on your naked knees? How did your mother smell when she left Saturday night for a party? These are some of the assignments that Iris Eichenberg gives her students so that through childhood memories they might gain insight into their obsessions and develop them into an artistic language.
From Hand to Hand: Passing on Skill and Know How in European Contemporary Jewellery Read More »
It is said that Arctic peoples have one hundred words for snow. There could easily be that many words to describe the gold jewelry in Masters: Gold: Major Works by Leading Artists. At first glance the 40 featured jewelers have little to connect them, other than their extraordinary facility with the precious material. Internationally known artists such as Wendy Ramshaw and Bruno Martinazzi are rightfully included, but there are many pleasant surprises as well that make this book well worth looking for.
Masters: Gold – Major Works by Leading Artists Read More »
Kevin Coates calls himself a ‘ghost whisperer’ and he’s right. The jewelry, table ornaments and drawings of this British artist carry a unique message of fantasy and enchantment, coupled with a Cellini-like mastery of goldsmithing techniques. Dr Elizabeth Goring and Dr Helen Clifford contribute thoughtful and detailed analyses of Coates’s creative processes and passions, including
Kevin Coates: A Hidden Alchemy – Goldsmithing: Jewels and Tablepieces Read More »
At first sight, this new exhibition at the Palo Alto Art Center, California, holds the delight of a child’s playroom. There are oversize drawings on the walls, a large case with a train set in a rocky, wintry landscape and some display cases with peepholes to entice the viewer. Children – and any adults raised on
The Miniature World of Bruce Metcalf Read More »
With over 400 images by nearly 200 artists, there is a lot to look at in Adorn: New Jewelry by Amanda Mansell. The book’s chapters are organized by jewelry type (rings, brooches, etc.) with a short introduction for each section. The jewelers represented are mostly young and European, many of whom attended the Royal College of Art in London. There are only a handful of United States jewelers featured.
Adorn: New Jewelry Read More »
If there’s one word I would disagree with in the title of this book, it would be ‘madness.’ This weighty volume (519 pages) with its black and white comic book-style cover is in fact an exciting tribute to the serious, fun, dangerous and voluptuously varied work of 77 past and present students of Otto Künzli,
The Fat Booty of Madness: The Goldsmithing Class at Munich Art Academy Read More »
