In May of 2015, AJF Executive Director Rebekah Frank went out to Minneapolis to attend the very exciting Superscript seminar organized by Mn Artists and hosted by the Walker Art Center (the rest of us attended the seminar through its live feed). The seminar was of interest to AJF for several reasons. Not only was…
“The real is produced from miniaturized units, from matrices, memory banks and command models—and with these it can be reproduced an indefinite number of times.” —Jean Baudrillard I assume most AJF readers are familiar with the film trilogy The Matrix, in which protagonist Neo (played by Keanu Reeves) leaves “reality” behind and leaps into the…
Reading is seasonal. Come June, we head down the nearest Amazon shop—well, you know what I mean—to buy what your downstairs neighbor calls a “summer read” while wrapping a bashful smile around the latest Le Carré, which happens to be poking out of his beach tote. Meanwhile AJF, being of the WTF persuasion, believes that…
Looking at great art jewelry can change how you look at the world. I was once again reminded of this on the recent stimulating daylong jewelry tour of Boston sponsored by Art Jewelry Forum. The day featured exhibition spaces and some special hideaways of jewelry practitioners and advocates. The tour was held during the…
The body provides a site where various approaches to, and forms of, embellishment intersect in numerous interesting ways. The 21st century has now seen the perfect fusion of disposable jewelry and temporary tattoo. Steampunk science teachers are utilizing the Tesla coil to brand the skin. The Mint Museum’s Body Embellishment show is the first museum…
Anew Negotiation: Thai Contemporary Wearable Art March 27–April 25, 2015 Bilk Gallery, Canberra, Australia Exhibition set-up, Anew Negotiation: Thai Contemporary Wearable Art, 2015, Helen Aitken-Kuhnen (gallery director) in discussion with Taweesak Molsawat and Bow Wasinondh, Bilk Gallery, Canberra, Australia, photo: Mio Kuhnen Curated by Bow Wasinondh, it is the first outing by Thai contemporary jewelers in Australia….
Jonathan Wahl showed his large charcoal drawings at the Pulse fair last month with Lenox, Massachusetts-based Sienna Gallery. Jonathan was trained as a jeweler but explains how he became interested in drawing instead, and the conflicts he encountered along the way. His work is beautiful and the story is a tale filled with intriguing twists…
A large part of the extended AJF team (Rebekah Frank and Ben Lignel) and board (Susan Cummins, Liesbeth den Besten, Bella Neyman, and Tanel Veerne) has just dispersed back home from Munich Jewelry Week 2015. This year’s crop of exhibitions did not disappoint, and delivered to the crowd of aficionados the usual mix of sensory…
The winner of the 2014 Artists Award is Seulgi Kwon. AJF asked the four young Artist Award finalists, as well as Seulgi, to give us their thoughts on the future of the field. Their work represents a group of outstanding pieces of contemporary jewelry. This interview with Seulgi is the fifth and last one in…
The gallery Four in Gothenburg, Sweden, has just joined the AJF community of supporters. Its owners—Karin Roy Andersson, Malin Lövgren, Linnéa Eriksson, and Hanna Liljenberg—hosted the AJF trip to Gothenburg last year. We thank them for that, and for joining us in presenting original material on our website. Jorge Manilla, Extreme Seductiveness, 2014, necklace, leather,…
