View of exhibition entrance, La Frontera, 2013, Museo Franz Mayer, México D.F., Mexico, photo: Mike Holmes/Velvet da Vinci Historically, Guerrero has the rougher reputation—its mountains were home to Lucio Cabañas and his guerrilla in the 70s, for example—but Michoacán is now renowned for drug cartel activity, and during the week before I left for the […]
Jewels on the Border: La Frontera Exhibition Read More »
What makes contemporary jewelry unique? What are the singular characteristics that distinguish these objects and practices from other forms of visual arts? One way to answer this is to consider the spaces in which contemporary jewelry circulates. It inhabits not only the walls and plinths of museums, but also the private spaces of collectors’ drawers
Contemporary Jewelry in Perspective: Renwick Read More »
“A scholarly, thoughtful, and serious compendium of thinking about contemporary jewelry, from uncovering its origins to considering its definition among the do-it-yourself trend … A tome for the eclectic reader and fan of today’s artistry in jewelry.” Booklist Mill Valley, California, USA–Art Jewelry Forum (AJF) announces the publication of Contemporary Jewelry in Perspective, the organization’s most ambitious project to
AJF Launches In-Depth Book on Contemporary Jewelry Read More »
Mill Valley, California, USA—Art Jewelry Forum (AJF) announces the schedule of special events organized in support of their book Contemporary Jewelry in Perspective, the organization’s most ambitious project to date. A series of speaking engagements, book signings, and receptions has been planned in collaboration with major cultural and academic institutions in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, PA,
Art Jewelry Forum Announces East Coast Speakers Tour Read More »
Roberta Bernabei. Contemporary Jewellers: Interviews with European Artists. Oxford: Berg Publishers, 2011. Bernabei begins with a historical overview of European jewelry from the Middle Ages to the present day. All too often, the studio art movement is touted as the father of the studio jewelry movement, leaving students with little sense of the origins of
Contemporary Jewellers: Interviews with European Artists Read More »
This essay was first delivered at SOFA NY in April 2012 as an AJF-sponsored talk. The lecture has been modified to meet the format and needs of the AJF website. Margaret De Patta, Untitled Painting, c. 1917-21, gouche on paper, Margaret De Patta Archives, Bielawski Trust, Point Richmond, California Margaret Strong was born in Tacoma,
The Transcendent Jewelry of Margaret De Patta: Vision in Motion Read More »
After eleven years as an editor for Lark Books, Marthe Le Van is leaving to pursue new opportunities. In charge of the jewelry list, she has, since 2000, been responsible in one way or another for more than 60 publications. As a key player in contemporary jewelry publishing, AJF was keen to find out what
Packing My Library Read More »
John Paul Cooper, Brooch, 1908, 15-karat gold, ruby, moonstone, pearl, amethyst, chrysoprase, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, gift of Susan B. Kaplan John Paul Cooper, Brooch, 1908, 15-karat gold, ruby, moonstone, pearl, amethyst, chrysoprase, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, gift of Susan B. Kaplan The gallery in which Jewels, Gems, and Treasures is housed is a reasonably
Jewels, Gems, and Treasures: Ancient to Modern Read More »
The international critical discourse on art jewelry is still not consistent with the use of labels (art – author – studio – contemporary – research jewelry) but the meaning is clear. ‘Just as the rectangular canvas was freed from representation and became an arena for the exploration of a range of other themes, so has
Jewelry By Visual Artists in Italy: A Critical Review Read More »
This essay was first delivered as a talk at SOFA NY in May 2011. The Museum of Art and Design’s exhibition, Crafting Modernism: Midcentury Art and Design (opening in October 2011) features over 20 jewelers. Some are well known, such as Alexander Calder, while others have been resurrected from obscurity and brought forward for re-evaluation.
For People Who Are Slightly Mad: American Modernist Jewelry 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 »
In the early 1990s word traveled quickly through collectors of contemporary jewelry, museum curators, and the craft world at large that a major collection of modernist jewelry had “escaped” the United States. Collective gnashing of teeth decried “the one that got away.” The collection had been assembled by Mark McDonald, Mark Isaacson, and Ralph Cutler, partners in
What’s Modernism Got to Do With It? Read More »
