Karl Fritsch, Die Tranen Von Pandora, 2004, silver, various stones; oxidized To be clear, editor Marthe Le Van never uses the term ‘greatest hits.’ But she has taken the concept, turned it on its ear and produced a unique look into contemporary art jewelry spanning the past 31 years and published over the past ten […]
21st Century Jewelry: The Best of the 500 Series Read More »
This review was first published in The Journal of Modern Craft, v.3, n.2, July 2010, pp.269-272. And so here it is, the enormous catalogue to the Helen Williams Drutt collection, acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) in Texas and co-published by that institution and Arnoldsche. Presided over by Cindi Strauss, curator of
Ornament as Art: Avant-garde Jewelry from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection Read More »
Daniel Kruger, Necklace, 2010, enamel, copper, silver, photo: Uwe W Beier A dealer gallerist with 20 years’ experience is going to be closer to this subject than most other people. She comes into contact with a constant stream of new jewelry, is in constant touch with what the public likes (or doesn’t) and is constantly
Art Meets Jewellery: 20 Years – Gallery Slavik Vienna Read More »
In the late 1950s, Dr Ümit Bir set out with his stethoscope in his bag, traveling around the world and including frequent visits to Turkey, his home country. In 1960, he met an architect, Dr Rudolph Steinbach, who gave the order to ‘start collecting!’ Trained in ‘the strenuous and exacting practice of medicine,’ Bir turned
Jewellery from the Orient: Treasures from the Bir Collection Read More »
Emmanuel Lacoste, Langues (Two Pieces) Tongue Jewel, 2006, fine gold Also Known As Jewellery* is a hybrid model, somewhere between a survey exhibition – seventeen of the best French or French-based jewelers who are contributing to the ‘spectacular evolution’ of contemporary jewelry in France – and an argument about what contemporary jewelry is and does.
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This book is a cabinet of wonderful curiosities, particularly for people who are knowledgeable about twentieth and twenty-first century art history. It will also drive you slightly mad, like being invited to a grand buffet and only allowed to pick one or two dishes.
Private Passion: Artists’ Jewelry of the 20th Century Read More »
Hoping to get some idea of the ramifications of fine art’s turn to the handmade, I started reading By Hand: The Use of Craft in Contemporary Art, edited by Shu Hung and Joseph Magliaro. As the editors write in their preface:
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The second book by English publishers Black Dog to take stock of contemporary jewelry practice in the new millennium. The geographical spread is not too bad and the jewelry itself is nicely introduced with short texts (by Beccy and Indigo Clark) and a judicious use of object-only and contextual photography. Amy Sackville’s introduction sets the
New Directions in Jewellery II Read More »
The first of two books by Black Dog which survey contemporary jewelry in the new millennium, this publication sets the scene by introducing contemporary jewelry as a practice which tests the limits of jewelry through a substantial flirtation with fine art. It’s a somewhat boring premise, but it does accurately describe what a lot of
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Based on Helen Drutt’s comprehensive collection of contemporary jewelry (now in the Houston Museum of Fine Arts) this book is a strong introduction to the history and practice of contemporary jewelry. Peter Dormer writes the critical chapters, which are intelligent and historically minded, offering insights into the issues that individual jewelers tackle in their work,
Jewelry of Our Time: Art, Ornament and Obsession Read More »
This book is not only a good introduction to the work of a number of important contemporary jewelers, but also attempts to develop a kind of history of contemporary jewelry that is still relatively rare. In detailing a face-off between the United States and Europe (Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy) Turner does a credible
Jewelry in Europe and America: New Times, New Thinking Read More »
An interesting book that seeks to survey contemporary (or as the authors call it, studio) jewelry in the 1990s and to provide some interpretative frameworks for understanding the practice. The discussions of individual jewelers are somewhat frustrating because of a lack of specifics and a tendency to rely on generalizations, but Amanda Game and Elizabeth
Jewellery Moves: Ornament for the 21st Century Read More »
