Seven More Examples of Art Jewelry

Ada Chen, Text Message Earrings, 2018

What makes it art jewelry: ITS SOCIO/POLITICAL NATURE. Chen employs texting—our most common means of communication—to illustrate the stereotypes of young Asian American women.

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Beau McCall, Button Armor, 2014

What makes it art jewelry: NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR EVERYDAY MATERIALS. McCall found himself with an abundance of large buttons. He purchased multicolored chicken wire, braided it in a manner commonly practiced by school-aged children, and connected the buttons to make this arresting neckpiece.

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Keith Lewis, Dead Souls Neckpiece, 1992

What makes it art jewelry: IT DOCUMENTS POLITICAL OR SOCIAL MOMENTS. Lewis uses anxious, electroformed fragile birdlike forms as evocative stand-ins for friends he lost to AIDS.

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Julia Obermaier, Verborgen (Hidden), 2021

What makes it art jewelry: ITS MATERIALITY. Stones are handled in new ways—sliced, stacked, and layered into brooches.

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Myra Mimlitsch-Gray, Untitled (Ring II), 1993

What makes it art jewelry: IT CHANGES THE MEANING OF WELL-UNDERSTOOD FORMS. A knuckle duster is a tool for violence—considered a concealed weapon in many parts of the world. Myra Mimlitsch-Gray re-envisions one as an object of peace, an intricate collage of brass “lucky” charms.

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David Bielander, Cardboard Crown, 2015

What makes it art jewelry: IT RETHINKS PRECIOUS MATERIALS. While this crown appears to be cardboard, it is made of gold, both yellow and white.

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Verena Sieber-Fuchs, Garlic Collar, 2012

What makes it art jewelry: IT EXPANDS THE BOUNDARIES OF JEWELRY. An oversized neckpiece made of garlic peels questions the essential characteristics of jewelry.

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