Like many of Anni Albers’s woven pieces, the 1941 hardware necklace series she made with former student Alex Reed was informed by her travels throughout South America. Reflecting on the incorporation of natural materials in ancient jewelry discovered in a tomb near Oaxaca, Mexico, Albers explained, “The art of Monte Alban had given us the […]
Anni Albers’s and Alex Reed’s Drain and Paperclip Necklace Read More »
Bent, Cast & Forged: The Jewelry of Harry Bertoia March 24–November 29, 2015 Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA For those interested in the history of 20th-century design, the name Harry Bertoia should be a familiar one. Bertoia’s humble beginnings as a 15-year-old Italian immigrant were soon eclipsed by his ambitious and prodigious work
Cranbrook Marks Bertoia at 100 with Jewelry Exhibition Read More »
Born February 4, 1934, Evergreen, Illinois Died April 2, 2015, Deer Isle, Maine Today we make jewelry and wearable art from any material that we choose, but it was J. Fred Woell who in the 1960s broke the rules and paved the way for art jewelers. Fred pioneered the concept of using found objects and
In Memory of J. Fred Woell Read More »
Damian Skinner and Finn McCahon-Jones, Fingers: Jewellery for Aotearoa New Zealand—40 Years of Fingers Jewellery Gallery. Auckland: David Bateman, 2014. ISBN:978-1-86953-862-0 Fingers: Jewellery for Aotearoa New Zealand is an informative book that leaves you craving for more: This is a rich subject that can hardly be covered fully within 150 pages. On the one hand,
A Scrapbook Full of Stories Read More »
Ernestine Mills, Angel of Hope Pendant, 1909, enamel on silver shield, semiprecious stones, height 35 mm, courtesy of V. Irene Cockroft / Museum of London, photo: David Cockroft Morris died in 1896, concerned that the joy in craftsmanship he advocated had culminated in no more than “ministering to the swinish luxury of the rich.” Women
Ernestine Mills, Angel of Hope Read More »
This keynote address was delivered on July 5, 2014, at the Auckland Museum, during the Talkfest organized by Objectspace with the support of Creative New Zealand. The program began the day before, with a PechaKucha evening, and continued throughout the day with contributions by makers Pauline Bern, Warwick Freeman, Richard Orjis, and Lauren Winston; curators
Difference and Repetition Read More »
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 »
How useful are ideas of discipline in interpreting jewelry? In our increasingly post-disciplinary climate, differentiating between the realms that create and critique jewelry could seem no longer valid. Yet, some jewelry suggests that considering disciplines discretely can still be useful, particularly when authors engage with different disciplines to create objects unusual or overlooked in jewelry
Getulio Alviani, Monorecchio Read More »
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
Show and Tell: Calder Jewelry and Mobiles Read More »
A new article format was launched in January 2014. This series, called “One on One,” consists of 500-word analyses of specific works that lend themselves to in-depth study. One review will be published every month. “One on One” is a form of testing area. We believe that the field of contemporary jewelry will benefit from developing
Jewelry and Life: An Uncanny Connection Read More »
The contemporary jewelry scene sometimes acts like it doesn’t matter where you come from. The nationality of makers—and viewers—is acknowledged and then denied, an accident of birth but not something that needs to be factored into the interpretation of the work. So, what happens if you try and locate Lisa Walker as a New Zealand
Lisa Walker: Necklace Read More »
Contemporary jewelry is doing OK. It does not need another pat on the back in the form of a 300-page book of images. When taking on the task of editor in 2010, Damian Skinner decided to treat Contemporary Jewelry in Perspective as an opportunity to examine jewelry as a mature, fully developed practice. Rather than
This Is Not a Book (Part 2) Read More »
