May 2022, Part 2

Art Jewelry Forum is pleased to share the news that members of our community find noteworthy. Is something missing? The success of this compilation of compelling events, news, and items of interest to the jewelry community depends on YOUR participation. If you’re a member of AJF at the Silver level or above, you can add news and ideas to this bi-monthly report here. If you aren’t a member, but would like to become one, join AJF here.
Listings gathered with assistance from Carrie Yodanis.

CHERYL RILEY IS OUR NEXT AJF LIVE GUEST

Cheryl Riley is an artist, designer, advocate, mentor, and art advisor promoting artists of the Black African diaspora. She began creating wall art, installations, site-specific permanent public artworks, custom and licensed lighting, and furniture designs in 1986 after departing advertising. Her art explores similarities between seemingly disparate cultures viewed through the lens of gender, history, rituals, implements, and symbols. Recent sculpture projects address cultural tropes, societal structures, nourishment, representation, aspiration, and transcendence inspired by African Americans’ survival techniques. May 25, 12 p.m. EST, free. Register here.

FEEL LIKE SEEING A JEWELRY SHOW?

Find these listings and many, many more on our dedicated exhibition page:

• Unraveling(Jolynn Santiago and Andy Lowrie), at Baltimore Jewelry Center through May 15, 2022.
• Camilla Luihn, at Four Gallery, Gothenburg, Sweden, through May 21, 2022.
• Rian de Jong: Triggered, at Gallery Loupe, Montclair, NJ, through May 21, 2022.
• Butterflies and Hurricanes, at Galerie Door, Mariaheide, the Netherlands, through May 27, 2022.
• Contemplation: Contemporary Jewelry by Japanese Artists, at Galerie Noel Guyomarc’h bijoux et objets contemporains through May 29, 2022.
• Rings!, at Metal Museum, Memphis, TN, through June 12, 2022.
• Peace and Protection: Julia Walter, at Platina Stockholm through June 18, 2022.
• American Jewelry: The Susan Grant Lewin Collection at the Yale University Art Gallery, through Fall 2022.

FROM READERS

NOEL GUYOMARC’H AND STÉPHANE BLACKBURN DONATED TO THE MONTREAL MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS

The gallery owner and his partner gave 33 pieces of Canadian and international contemporary jewelry. The works are “a tremendous addition to the Museum’s collection of decorative arts and design,” writes Curator of Modern and Contemporary Decorative Arts Jennifer Laurent. “At its core, this sweeping collection is unified by the originality and daring of its pieces, and their explicit desire to challenge traditional academic art historical categories.” Learn more.

BLOCKBUSTER SHOW: CARTIER AND ISLAMIC ART: IN SEARCH OF MODERNITY

This major exhibition traces Islamic art’s influence on Cartier, exploring how the company’s designers adapted forms and techniques from Islamic art, architecture, and jewelry, as well as materials from India, Iran, and the Arab lands, synthesizing them into a unique modern stylistic language. Presents over 400 objects from major international collections. At the Dallas Museum of Art through September 18, 2022.

MICKI LIPPE CHECKED IN ABOUT HER MACULAR DEGENERATION

Fifty-odd years of jewelry making have been halted by eye disease. “I have had a long and wonderful career as a jeweler. I never thought I would close that door, but now I see that I must,” says Lippe. In an effort to reinvent herself, she has become a mentor to established jewelers. The goal: help them get to the next level with their work and their business. She adapted a design class she taught in the past and has already met with two of the four jewelers who signed up. “So far, my efforts have been very well received.” Lippe also hopes to work in some capacity with a woman who owns a gallery. Meanwhile, “I can still hike, my second love in life. I don’t drive on the highways, but I have friends who will pick me up. I can take pictures, my vision is good when I look at the camera on my phone.” Lippe started the Women’s shelter jewelry project about 20 years ago. “I have passed the leadership of that over to another woman. I’m still on the steering committee but felt that it needed fresh leadership.”

THE JEWELRY JOURNEY INTERVIEWED ELISABETTA CIPRIANI

Cipriani invites leading contemporary artists to create aesthetically innovative and socially relevant wearable art projects. Her pioneering vision has redefined the boundaries between jewelry and fine art, capturing the imaginations of artists and collectors across the globe. Listen to the podcast.

OPEN CALL: ISRAEL BIENNALE OF CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY

Open to anyone: professional, studying, emerging artists working in the field of jewelry, all countries and nationalities. Theme: Colorful Recovery. “After a long period of uncertainty, insecurity, fear, and sometimes even despair, one begins to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s time to add color and joy to our lives.” Application deadline: June 23, 2022. Info.

MÄRTA MATTSON’S COMING TO A TV NEAR YOU

… If you live in Sweden, that is. The jewelry artist reported on FB that she was recently interviewed for Swedish Television’s Kulturprogrammet Sverige. The episode will air this autumn.

VISIT TRINIDAD CONTRERAS’S STUDIO

“In my view, jewelry pieces are wearable sculptures. We go out and share them with the world. That’s where the pieces make sense,” says the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize finalist. Watch the video.

PANEL DISCUSSION ON ARTIST-DESIGNED JEWELRY

Auction houses are showing strong interest in jewelry by fine artists of the 20th century who designed jewelry as a side gig. Julie Simpson is part of a panel sponsored by the Art Appraisers of America that will focus on this type of art jewelry. The discussion will focus mainly on artists, such as Claire Falkenstein, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Afro Balsadello, César, Bruno Martinazzi, Calder, Picasso, etc. June 1, 10 a.m. Pacific. Register here.

HEY, BABY, WHAT’S YOUR SIGN?

Astrology is back, maybe because of the uncertainty of the times. Check out fun vintage jewelry, whether you’re a Taurus or a Scorpio.

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE NYC FOR JEWELRY

Manhattan might seem like a surprising place for jewelry making, given the crazy high rents and the recent creative exodus to cities like Austin and Miami. It also lacks the cachet of, say, Paris. Still, insiders call it one of the world’s jewelry capitals. Find out why.

MUSEUM OF ARTS AND DESIGN IS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS  FOR ARTIST STUDIOS

For artists and designers. Artists-in-residence receive studio space, a stipend, paid public programming opportunities, and professional development opportunities during the six-month residency. Deadline: May 31, 2022. Apply.

PAGES

350 WORDS FOR JEWELLERY

With terms and their derivations from about 75 living and historical languages, this etymological study of 350 words around jewelry reveals that through linguistic analysis we can virtually watch our ancestors think. By Barbara Schmidt, in English. Buy it from Charon Kransen Arts.

MARGIT JÄSCHKE: KAIROS

Kairos is the Greek god of the fortuitous moment. He can only be caught fleetingly by his forelock. It is this precious moment that Jäschke seizes and that inspires her to create work. By Susanne Altmann and Karl Bollmann, from Arnoldsche.

SMCK MAGAZINE

Issue 6 has published. Check it out.

MARION DELARUE: STRANGENESS MATTERS

2021 catalog of the French jewelry artist’s 2021 exhibition during the Legnica Jewelry Festival. Delarue was a finalist for the 2022 AJF Young Artist Award. Her work plays with the confusion between authenticity and imitation , nature and artifice, false pretenses and lures. Get it at Charon Kransen Arts.

 A MIND OF THEIR OWN: JEWELLERY FROM AUSTRIA

With a focus on the protagonists of early avant-garde jewelry, this publication presents an exciting insight into Austrian jewelry production from the 1970s to the present day, exemplified by some 80 jewelry objects, many with sculptural and conceptual approaches. Selected works from more recent generations highlight references to works of the pioneers and attest to the developments of a fascinating and heterogeneous jewelry scene. By Ursula Guttmann, Susanne Hammer, and Gabriele Kutschera (eds.), from Arnoldsche.

INTERESTING LINKS

WHAT MAKES AN ETHICAL COLLECTOR?

When deciding what to buy, a collector has many choices to make, not only about the work and the artist, but also how their decisions about the life of the work after purchase can impact the artist, the art market, and institutions. A distinguished panel explores how collectors can act ethically to help make the art world more equitable. Watch the video, presented by The Art Newspaper.

COLLECTING IS BUILT AROUND PATTERNS AND SERIES

That’s how Jessica Oreck, the founder of the Office of Collecting and Design, a museum in Nevada, describes her collecting. She was interviewed on NYCJW.

THE GREAT DIAMOND AND SYNTHETIC DIAMOND SWINDLE?

Jason Kohn’s documentary film Nothing Lasts Forever “masterfully exposes the multi-billion dollar [diamond] industry as a house of cards,” says IndieWire. “As synthetic diamonds call into question the value of natural ones, a collapsing diamond market casts doubt on the whole idea of the engagement ring and its promise of everlasting love,” writes Jude Dry in a review. Watch the trailer.

SPEAKING OF WHICH, J.LO’S SIX ENGAGEMENT RINGS

J.Lo has received some amazing, giant engagement rings over the years, including the recent green diamond from Ben Affleck. Check them out. Is Hollywood maybe helping sell the mirage?!

SAFETY FIRST!

Flare, a line of safety bracelets, has a Bluetooth-enabled button to trigger an app on your phone to receive a fake phone call from a voice actor, share GPS location with someone via text message, or call the police.

BON APPETIT!

At L.A.’s Chifan restaurant, gorgeous and … edible jade bangles, necklaces, and rings are on the menu. Order up!

HALF-ASS SANCTIONS?

The loophole in the ban on Russian diamonds.

BRITISH-WEST AFRICAN DESIGNER SATTA MATTURI ADORNS VIOLA DAVIS

The actress wore Matturi’s gold and diamond earrings to a premiere for a miniseries in which she portrays Michelle Obama. The one-of-a-kind jewels are part of initiatives working to amplify Black voices through representation on red carpets. Learn more.

GILDED GLAMOUR AT THE MET GALA

This year’s theme, Gilded Glamour, resulted in loads of eye-catching jewelry for the red carpet—including this bracelet from Lillian Shalom that covers the ring and pinky fingers—and plenty of spectacular jewelry for the hair.

DEAREST TELLS IT LIKE IT IS

“Holy cow,” writes Monica McLaughlin of a current auction of vintage baubles at Skinner, “all thoughts of antiquity flew from my mind the second I saw this piece. This 14kt gold necklace features a GIGANTIC ARTICULATED PRAYING MANTIS with hinged legs that can be adjusted along the base wire of the piece. It would probably get caught on everything and be a huge pain in the ass. Still worth it.” What do you think—would you wear it anyway? By the way, there’s an Art Smith cuff in another Skinner auction.

EVENTS

NEW BIENNIAL STARTS THIS WEEK: ORIZZONTE D’AUTORE, MAY 7–JULY 24, 2022

Conceived by Thereza Pedrosa, the biennial will include a group exhibition, a Giampaolo Babetto retrospective, a lifetime achievement award, book presentations, an artist’s talk by Giovanni Corvaja, a guided tour by Eliana Negroni, and several conferences. At the Civic Museum of Asolo, in Italy. Info on Instagram; museum website.

JEWEL.ROTTERDAM: MAY 20–22, 2022

30 Rotterdam-based jewelry designers and students will show during the Art Rotterdam Week at OBJECT in the HAKA-building in the M4H section. See unique handmade pieces, classic, and independent work in highly diverse styles with a rich variety of materials. For the occasion, everyone has designed a piece for men. In conjunction, lectures about jewelry for men will be given at Phoebus•Rotterdam by Suzanne van Leeuwen (jewelry conservator at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam) and fashion designer Gary Symor (on May 19); and Liesbeth den Besten and goldsmith Iwan Klein, who specializes in signet rings (on May 21). The lectures start at 7:45 p.m. and are free but you must register in advance. More info. Questions? Email AJF member Karin van Paassen.

SIERAAD: MAY 26–29, 2022

Presents unique jewelry as art, as well as traditional work produced by contemporary silver and goldsmiths. Artist-designers from all corners of the globe, including highly talented emerging designers from internationally acclaimed academies, exhibit work not found anywhere else. Info.

AUTOR: May 28­–29, 2022

An international fair and an active platform for contemporary jewelry, in Bucharest, Romania. Info.

ASJRA CONFERENCE: MAY 21–22, 2022

The speakers at the annual conference include curators, historians, gemologists, and jewelry artists, all offering perspectives from diverse areas of the jewelry world. Held virtually. Info.

FOLLOW YOUR BLISS SYMPOSIUM: MAY 26-29, 2022

 The Haxthäuserhof Schmucksymposium, formerly called Zimmerhof, seeks to look “openly into the wide scope of jewelry-, product-, and object-making and discover the different positions, from the artistic expression through unique pieces as well as serial production.” Info.

SNAG x PROVIDENCE: JUNE 1–4, 2022

The Society of North American Goldsmiths’ 50th annual conference will take place in Providence, RI. Info.

SCHMUCK: JULY 6–10, 2022

The one, the only: jewelry week in Munich. Helen Britton’s selections for Schmuck 2021 will be on view, including work by Mallory Weston, who won AJF’s Young Artist Award in 2022. At the Internationale Handwerksmesse.

BUDAPEST JEWELRY WEEK: SEPTEMBER 12–18, 2022

Info.

ROMANIAN JEWELRY WEEK: OCTOBER 6–9, 2022

Applications are now open to designers in Romania and worldwide—emerging as well as established artists. Deadline: June 17, 2022. Learn more.

ISRAEL BIENNALE OF CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY: NOVEMBER 10–14, 2022

Hosted by the Geological Museum, in Ramat Hasharon. Info.

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May 2022, Part 2

There are so many reasons to purchase art jewelry… 

• You got that hard-earned promotion—celebrate! 
• You’re experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime occasion—honor it. 
• You wrapped up that major accomplishment—pay it tribute.
• You want to mark the beginning of a new relationship or the end of one—commemorate it.
• Perhaps it’s an investment—do it!
• It’s the perfect piece to round out an aspect of your collection—pounce!
• Or maybe it’s as a treat for yourself—just because. 

Art Jewelry Forum’s international gallery supporters celebrate and exhibit art jewelry. Our monthly On Offer series allows this extensive network of international galleries to showcase extraordinary pieces personally selected to tempt and inspire you. Take a look. You’re bound to find a fantastic piece you simply have to add to your collection! (Please contact the gallery directly for inquiries.)

Gallery: Galeria Tereza Seabra
Contact: Tereza Seabra
Artist: Verena Sieber-Fuchs
Retail price: €300, plus shipping

Verena Sieber-Fuchs is an artist who explores crocheting techniques. By adding different ordinary objects/materials, she creates rich textures and sensual objects that can be seen and worn like jewelry, but most of all they are beautiful and exquisite objets d’art.

Gallery: Four Gallery
Contact: Karin Roy Andersson
Artist: Danni Schwaag
Retail price: €300

Danni Schwaag uses materials, colors, and shapes to make compositions that express feelings such as play, harmony, energy, and that tickling feeling of curiosity or inspiration—pieces perfect to wear on your earlobes.

Gallery: Thereza Pedrosa Gallery
Contact: Thereza Pedrosa
Artist: Sara Barbanti
Retail price: €360

Sara Barbanti’s research is based on the relationship between different materials and how they highlight each other through dialogue. In this creative process, contrast is essential. Combining complex organic forms with linear geometric shapes, poor materials with precious materials, light with darkness. The spontaneity of form and composition are fundamental elements in the artist’s research. Imperfection becomes a strength and fragmentation conveys a feeling of completeness.

Gallery: Galerie Noel Guyomarc’h
Contact: Noel Guyomarc’h
Artist: Michihiro Sato
Retail price: CAN$860

Michichiro Sato, based in Fukui, Japan, studied at Porfzheim University and received his MFA from the National Academy of Art in Oslo. Often described as sensitive, fragile, and poetic, the artist’s paper works are challenging to execute. Inspired by Japanese flora, his works pay homage to the nature that surrounds him.

Gallery: Baltimore Jewelry Center
Contact: Shane Prada
Artist: Andy Lowrie
Retail price: US$575

Andy Lowrie is an Australian maker currently based in Baltimore, MD, where he is a teaching fellow at the Baltimore Jewelry Center. Working with adornment and decoration in relation to the body, he makes sculptural and wearable objects, works on paper, and paint-based installations. He pursues contemporary expressions of jewelry-making that embrace a theatrical and reflexive exploitation of material and process. In acts of mark-making, surface manipulation, and erasure, he explores the potential of process as metaphor. Utopia is a recent brooch in an ongoing series in which he reimagines destructive processes as generative ones.

Gallery: Ornamentum
Contact: Stefan Friedemann
Artist: Lisa Walker
Retail price: US$4,400

Lisa Walker created this pendant for her first solo exhibition with Ornamentum. The materials are homey and soft, the colors pleasing… the forms pay tribute to diamonds, yet the large scale and whimsy in the composition lead one to question—is it an homage or a caricature of the traditional icon of jewelry?

Gallery: Fingers Gallery
Contact: Lisa Higgins
Artist: Debbie Adamson
Retail price: NZ$150–$410

To borrow a quote from Kobi Bosshard, “I make things so that I can see what they look like.” Debbie Adamson spent time living and working alongside Bosshard in 2012. “It may sound superficial, but I guess the reason it appeals to me is because regardless of what I am trying to achieve, I generally make things to try and find out. I’m curious—curious about our culture. The things we call craft, the things we call art, and the things that influence our sense of identity—these ideas all interest me. I’m also interested in the idea of not knowing, the way you can stumble across something obvious you never thought of completely by accident, or go in a direction that takes you somewhere you didn’t expect.”

Gallery: Galerie Spektrum
Contact: Jürgen Eickhoff
Artist: Jürgen Eickhoff
Retail price: €350

A nice pin.

Gallery: Galeria Reverso
Contact: Paula Crespo
Artist: Joana Santos
Retail price: €340

Knit consists of a material essay on the search for the jewelry object that becomes, at the same time, a reason for contemplation and a wearable piece. Joana Santos presents us with the static choreography of an unusual piece of jewelry, which, based on the same geometric matrix, unfolds at different times. Inert body. Adornment. Masterpiece. What is at stake is the plasticity of the plot, a network of relationships, which is shaped by and in the exhibition device. “Its strength lies in the possibility of doing and undoing, in the creation of empty spaces, openings and porosities, which reveal and transform themselves into new identities.” The piece is part of a series called Trama. Stripped of an anthropomorphic body, Trama affirms the problematic relationship between contemporary jewelry creation and the body that commonly wears, transports, and displays it. This body is an object that can be typified and a living showcase of social, political, and cultural codes.

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In response to the shock wave of the pandemic, jewelry artists made work and galleries and museums organized exhibitions. We asked the community to send us images—you inundated us! We appreciate your participation.

This final installment features work from around the world. Some of it relates to lockdown—feelings of isolation, working through these emotions, making with whatever’s at hand. Other pieces have to do with fear, keeping safe, and social distancing. Still others are about finding hope.

Part 1 is here.
You’ll find Part 2 here.
View Part 3 here.
See Part 4 here.
And here’s part 5.

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Art Jewelry Forum has expanded its efforts to connect more directly with the jewelry community by regularly hosting live chats online. We feature artist studio visits, talk with gallerists about shows they’re hosting, interview curators and authors, and have other programming tied to various jewelry weeks from around the globe. We record these all and post them on our website.

The post AJF Live with Cheryl Riley appeared first on Art Jewelry Forum.

More than 100 international artists applied for this year’s Young Artist Award. Taisha Carrington was chosen as one of the finalists. She received an unrestricted cash award of US$1,000 and will exhibit her work in Platina’s booth at Schmuck, in July 2022. Her work represents a group of outstanding pieces of contemporary jewelry. We asked her to tell us a bit about her background and thoughts on the future of the art jewelry field. Hers is the second of our interviews with the honorees. (Read the interview with Young Artist Award winner Mallory Weston here.)

AJF’s Young Artist Award acknowledges promise, innovation, and individuality, advancing the careers of rising artists. The competition was open to makers of wearable art age 35 and under who are not currently enrolled in a professional training program. Judging was based on originality, depth of concept, and quality of craftsmanship. This year’s jurors were 2020 AJF Artist Award winner MJ Tyson (US); collector and gallerist Karen Rotenberg (US); and educator and curator Chequita Nahar (The Netherlands).

Bonnie Levine: Congratulations on being one of the five finalists of the 2022 Young Artist Award competition! That’s quite an accomplishment. Please tell us about yourself. How did you become interested in jewelry? What inspires your work?

Taisha Carrington: I’m a multidisciplinary artist exploring my identity and place through jewelry, installation, performance, and social practice. For me, jewelry was a transition from sculpture, which itself was a transition from an interest in architecture. In my mind they are all the same, just at different scales.

I learned about art jewelry in my sophomore year of college. My sculpture professor saw my penchant for detail in my sculptures and recommended it. Since then I’ve pursued telling stories through jewelry while finding deep satisfaction in honing techniques and skills. Material curiosity, fit, and function are the foundations of my fascination with the art form. So is the history of jewelry as protection, identification, or decoration.

I see my pieces as running parallel to my life. I hope that by sharing this long-form “visual journal” with others they can encounter joy, new ways of thinking, and peace. Or maybe we can help each other through exchanges of knowledge and experiences.

What does being a finalist mean for you? Will it influence you going forward?

Taisha Carrington: Absolutely. This acknowledgment brings special visibility and reassurance. Being a finalist and having an opportunity to exhibit at Munich Jewelry Week also exposes me to a new segment of the art jewelry field—the European side.

I’m eager to encounter new ways of thinking that might be specific to culture, geographic location, and environment outside of my familiar Caribbean and NY spheres. I’m looking forward to the conversations and exchanges with fellow artists, curators, and jewelry enthusiasts. These experiences tend to unlock whole new worlds for me. That prospect is exciting!!!

Tell us about the work you applied with.

Taisha Carrington: I applied with a body of work called I Had a Dream of a New Old Caribbean. Through this work I reimagine how Black people came to the Caribbean, proposing that they arrived as superheroes and not as enslaved people.

I use this “new history” as a reference guide when exploring my home, Barbados. Instead of seeing beaches and cane fields as reminders of a colonial past, I imagine them as homes of superheroes and as places where they would find materials for talismans.

These artworks serve as anchors on which to build new memories to combat the complexities of postcolonial trauma and foster communal healing. I gather volcanic ash, clay, whelks, and conch shell during walking meditations. I obtain the mother-of-pearl by removing the exterior of the whelk’s shell. Any unused shell pieces are returned to the beach. Fold-forming and chasing are used to make the pieces lightweight, though large. The form and materials of each piece tell individual stories of resilience, survival, creolized knowledge, and vibrant futures.

What excites you about the art jewelry field?

Taisha Carrington: Scale. Initially, the practicality of being able to produce small-scale artworks fascinated me. It eliminated my concerns about storage, travel, etc. But that was just the beginning of my fascination.

Now I’m excited about jewelry as personal performance through the lens of site-specificity. I’m an installation artist, and my large-scale, site-specific works focus on a particular environment which the human(s) become a part of. However, with jewelry there is role reversal, where the body is the environment/site which the work becomes a part of. Oscillating between these two dynamics really feeds my practice through the change of scale, site, and shift in priority of the human to made-object relationship.

Any frustrations that you see or have experienced?

Taisha Carrington: Access to the art jewelry world while living in Barbados has been my main challenge. As previously mentioned, most of my art is site-specific, so it is important to me to be based in Barbados at this time. This choice is linked to my desire to investigate mental health, fragility of the family unit, and the central role of migration in the narrative of life in the Caribbean through lived experience.

This choice comes at the cost of being outside of a place with an abundance of opportunity. Elements that contribute to how we grow as artists—access to libraries, museums, visiting exhibitions, networking, etc.—are largely absent. However, I have found alternatives, aided by the pandemic, actually. With the transition to online events, these barriers have been weakened.

I tune in to so many artist talks via Zoom. I “visit” so many online exhibitions to see work, and take part in online residencies that allow me to meet other artists and have conversations. These are mostly the ways I have found to address the lack of community. Instead of being hindered by these frustrations, I am working to help change them.

Where do you think the art jewelry field is going? Do you see new and exciting trends?

Taisha Carrington: This is a tough question because I like where the field is now. The work I see from fellow artists is evocative, relevant, and speaks well to our current affairs globally. The ability to learn, feel, and share through artwork is what I value most, and I see a lot of this around me. So I think the art jewelry field is moving in a great direction.

If you could write a master plan for your practice, where would you like to be five years from now?

Taisha Carrington: In five years I will likely have completed my MFA and hope to have had a solo show. I will still be working to affect the practicality of pursuing a career in this field from Barbados. I will also still be working to amplify our voices about the needs for climate justice, fair treatment, and our power to envision vibrant futures for ourselves. I also hope to grow my practice with residencies in African countries to learn more about the origin of Barbadian people and culture and reestablish links between our ways of living.

The post Checking In with Taisha Carrington appeared first on Art Jewelry Forum.

This article frames a conversation with matt lambert around their most recent series in response to their PhD research, Self Care. Making its exhibition debut at Koru 7, Self Care consists of hand-made leather-bound cases in the language of luxury goods storage. The cases perfectly contain, protect, and conceal various gestures of the artist’s own hands: peace signs, clenched fists, fingers folded and outstretched. Folding over personal issues of care for fatigue and physical distress and the contemporary political climate, the objects blur and occupy the boundaries of personal and public expression.

lambert is a non-binary, trans, multidisciplinary object maker, jeweler, and co-conspirer working toward equity, inclusion, and reparation. They are a founder and facilitator of The Fulcrum Project and currently are a PhD student between Konstfack and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. They hold an MA in critical craft studies from Warren Wilson College and an MFA in metalsmithing from Cranbrook Academy of Art.

This conversation holds space for the breaking apart of categories, whether jewelry-specific or universally impactful. We discuss the need for love, self-care, kinship, and destruction in order to build a world suitable for habitation. Jewelry—and the broad range of objects that that term may contain—plays a role in this process. Our dialogue explores what that role may be. 

Steven KP: Your practice moves between so many disciplines, materials, and formats. When making a body of work, how do you start? What makes a project worth starting?

matt lambert: Either it rolls in my brain, or I wait for the right material or process to come—a lot of found objects or finding those right objects that ignite something. Or by meeting someone who I want to work with, which is a different kind of waiting.

From the outside it seems like the practice moves across disciplines or across concepts, but for me this is my discipline, this is my material, these are my processes. It’s just drawing or redrawing the boundaries of maps of what we think of as ownership, fields, or disciplines, and creating Venn diagrams with a few within them and saying, “this is my field, this is my place.” Denying bordering or nationalization and saying, “this is what you are,” and emphasizing that you don’t believe in these binaries, these divisions.

Speaking of boundaries and borders, you currently live and work in Stockholm after relocating during a global pandemic. How has that affected your practice or thinking?

matt lambert: It affected it greatly. At first I stopped really making at all. Or at least making things that could be purchased or consumed for a year. It really made me question what it means to make something that can be considered a commodity. What does it mean to make something new? Do we need new things right now? I started my PhD here and halted all production, making for making’s sake. It allowed me to really question why I feel the urge to be making objects—and I do need to be.

In the last month I’ve finally gone back to the bench and been able to make objects that I have control over. Also, really thinking about what is craft, what those terms mean, and living in an international discourse for this long has forced me to question how I define things. Always go back and reassess the moment you feel comfortable. When you’re comfortable you should always question why you’re comfortable, what you’re not looking at, what you’re not paying attention to, and how that allows you to be comfortable.

Is your adjustment in thinking more of a result of the relocation or of the step back from the bench?

matt lambert: That’s a really complex entanglement. Having just finished the Warren Wilson Program in Craft Theory and with a writing career taking off, it’s not really possible to separate those contexts right now. Maybe in 10 years I’ll have a better answer. The pandemic gave us “the time to do what we choose.” As someone with anxiety, I had a lot of time, but I had a lot of time to be anxious. I had a lot of time to be consumed by what was going on in the world. It didn’t really give me the time to step forward on my work.

That entanglement is really interesting to think about, especially as it relates to your most recent body of work. Self Care was recently exhibited at Koru 7. This collection started with a very specific history and category of objects: presentation boxes.

matt lambert: I have a background in leatherworking, and I’m always interested in the language, the vernacular of jewelry—the discourses around the objects as well. There is a whole discourse of makers who have played around with the clamshell case or the presentation box and it has always kind of rolled around in my head.

I went to the Hermitage in Amsterdam in 2020 for an exhibition of jewels—the collection of the Russian Court—and found myself more drawn to the cases. The jewels were beautiful, but they kind of overwhelmed me. So many diamonds, so much glitter. The cases are something I had never seen in person before. I wanted to know more about them—what’s underneath them, how they are made. But of course these are the objects with the least information on the wall. They become kind of a support or a background function, which I am always thinking about. The hidden figures of the work, the places of rest for the objects. The exhibit [also] got into domestic objects: pipe cases, cases for the heads of canes. I realized, “Oh, the case doesn’t need to fully encapsulate the object, it can protect portions of it.” And the logical question for me was, “can I make cases for my body?” Can I make cases for specific parts of my body?

Working within a very specific lineage or level of access can be challenging when creating accessible work. In your display cases, how are you situating your gestures, your hands, as the objects they contain?

matt lambert: There is a lot of baggage that one could put on these objects—and I love that. I’m always drawn to things in which there is ambiguity, multiple interpretations. One facet is absolutely the commodification of self-care and this need to purchase things—the face mask, the bath bomb. You can’t relax, take care, without purchasing something.

As I really started to work with my hands I discovered—probably from doing a lot more writing and making—tendonitis, something in my hands that made it very, very painful, having to wear braces, and feeling disconnected from the things I used to make every aspect of my life. And being scared. How do you be a craftsperson with damaged hands? I was questioning the value of my own hands and thinking about what it means to use or take care of them.

Another thing that gets added onto these objects is what is going on politically in the world. The rise of movements like BLM, more awareness, or at least discussion of inequality through the lack of funding and resources, the more intersectional you get, the more complex it is with people being ignored or harmed, not cared for. Seeing the rise of the diversity statement through social media, and these very canned responses to very real issues, makes me wonder what it means to have these gestures of care or solidarity present. What is their value? These are kind of think pieces to work through the question of where the gesture is valuable, or becomes devalued.

The questions of value and preservation are really interesting in the context of making cases to hold these gestures in place. Creating boxes that they fit into but are then held in place within. What does it mean to you to take a verb, like making a fist, or an action, like signaling for peace, and then protect it and also conceal it within a case? What does it mean to put these gestures in a box?

matt lambert: The important question is, “when do these gestures need to be seen, when do they need to be heard?” Always checking your privilege and point of your body. When are you the one who needs to be listening, when is passing important, when is passing abusive, these complex questions get raised by these pieces. And [I’m not] trying to answer them, my practice has been leaning more and more into questions without needing the answers. They can be talking points. And that’s part of the reason why jewelry, or the language of jewelry, can be so amazing. Because it can ask so many questions. If I freeze this object—this gesture—is it still imporant? Does it still have power? If I hide it is it still important?

Self-care has been such a topic of popular discussion. What aspects of this discussion do you wish were more focused on in your perception of the dialogue?

matt lambert: I wish that our perception of self-care didn’t require the purchasing of something. It can come at costs of course, saying no to things, slowing down. But I am more interested in the “cost to what?” To question why we don’t care. And that’s where self-care really extends into community care. Our ability to care for others is about our own personal care.

You often work in various collaborative models. In this particular work, how did that look?

matt lambert: Whenever I collaborate there is always an initial conversation of what that actually means to each of us. What is equitable? What does money look like? It’s important to have what people think of as ugly conversations. I find that it opens up trust. What do you want, is money up front, how do you want to be credited, do you want your name attached to this? Do you want to be listed as a collaborator or for hire? Do you want a percentage of the sales? What is your level of investment in this project?

In this particularly project (the cases), somebody I met asked to not have their name listed, and that happens sometimes. Especially with a lot of people who work in craft. Some people are very uncomfortable with those labels. It was such a joy working with someone who worked in leather because we could talk about small details. What ounce leather, what stitches worked best, what colors, how should it be tanned and treated, and what are our options? I took all the molds of my own hands in these gestures and then shipped them to them. And then seeing what happens. I didn’t have ultimate control, I’m giving someone a piece, a form of my body, which continues these metaphors of self-care and bodily autonomy.

These objects were selected for and exhibited at Koru 7, an international triennial of contemporary works by contemporary jewelry artists put on by Korutaide-yhdistys, the Finnish Jewelry Society, at the South Karelia Museum, in Lappeenranta, Finland. How did you situate these objects and these practices with dialogues with jewelry or dialogues around jewelry?

matt lambert: I look at the people I’ve studied under or worked with—Lauren Kalman, Iris Eichenberg, Christoph Zellweger, Evan Larson, to name a few—all of those people have instilled in me that there is always a question of “what is the jewelry”? Is it all jewelry? What could it be?

When you line these up and look at my background it stirs together and entangles to make a sort of logical sense on how I’ve gotten to where I am when looking at the work I make now. But I’m not really interested in jewelry as a format, I’m interested in jewelry as a language. My research now is concerned with craft—especially jewelry, but also zooming out to craft—to look at what it adds to a discourse in the world right now. I’m interested in how objects exist in the world. What happens after we make the physical object? While I was there and speaking at the symposium, those questions never got raised. No one really challenged that these objects were in some way not jewelry—because they are. They’re wearable, they go over my hand, and they lock on my wrists. It’s arguably one of the more realistically—due to scale—wearable pieces of “jewelry” that I’ve made in a while.

When they went through customs, the cases were actually split open and tested for their contents. It’s really interesting to me how a case meant for self-care gets split open as it crosses borders. I could see the fingerprints of the customs workers on the inside of the cases. To me, it adds to this conversation of lineage and heirloom, and collecting the stories these objects pick up. Another layer of complexity.

I’m really curious for someone who thinks these aren’t jewelry to tell me why. That would be a fun conversation.

The language around which or the lens these objects are viewed through can situate our understanding of them, but what you’re getting at is that those tools of understanding are always shifting. We’ve talked a lot about conversations or community. What are the conversations in jewelry or amongst jewelers that you want to see happening more?

matt lambert: Two of the big questions I’m really interested in now are, “What would life look like without jewelry?” And “What else could be jewelry?” Really expanding our boundaries and being inclusive and celebrating, rather than saying “is this jewelry” or defining what can or cannot be jewelry. Being concerned with where those borders are really limits what we can do with jewelry. I’m really concerned about what happens when we put craft and jewelry in bigger, theoretical conversations and in other fields like performance or the humanities.

These broadenings also just enrich us and our understanding. These boundaries sometimes no longer help us understand, but they become more about containing, limiting, or gate-keeping.

matt lambert: And also question why we need to have such clear definitions for everybody and everything. We can all have our own definitions and understandings. A curator can have their own definition. A book can have its own definition. We’re learning how important positionality is in critical writing. Stating where you’re from and who you are at that time, what lens you’re thinking through on this issue. And then not being tied to that. We’re human and we’re going to change. This is something that you should be doing in the academic or communal discourses. It’s a conversation of “this is who I am, this is where I’m at in this moment.” That doesn’t mean that positionality is “right” or “wrong.” It just means that it’s a point of view.

There is such richness to this discussion, and it all stems from these objects, which at the end of the day are quite “simple.” They are leather cases that hold something as familiar as a fist, a peace sign. But within them they contain these strata of dialogues that are really complex but real issues. These issues of care aren’t just abstract or metaphysical, they’re very physical. Where do you see this particular work or this aspect of your practice going?

matt lambert: My work is never really linear, and I don’t really think in groups or series. I’m excited by the things I make that offer so many different interpretations or live with the complexity of our lives. I don’t have really clear ideas on where these go from here, but I’m definitely carrying them forward with me.

Series can very easily fall into commodity, capitalistic, and the production of something new in the object. An object doesn’t need to be newly made to be new. A new arrangement, or the placement or situation, can make something new. It doesn’t always have to be a new consumable thing.

Is a piece of jewelry new every time it’s worn by a wearer?

matt lambert: That’s up to you. That’s what’s so exciting. Certain pieces can be big and bold in one outfit or situation and really demure on another. The piece can reflect entirely different things or emotions in certain situations. That changes the work.

The position of flux that jewelry occupies is why jewelry can be such a powerful place to bring people in and to move through dialogues with. We need to bring more people in, but also bring jewelry out. Out to hear new ideas and bring new possibilities to it. Jewelry is such an old way of thought and it’s clearly not going away.

The one thing that might be moving is those discourses. As they move, I’m interested in how we include voices—and include not as in tokenize, but include and support systems and structures of care.

The post In Conversation with matt lambert appeared first on Art Jewelry Forum.

June 2022, Part 1

There are so many reasons to purchase art jewelry…

• You got that hard-earned promotion—celebrate!
• You’re experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime occasion—honor it.
• You wrapped up that major accomplishment—pay it tribute.
• You want to mark the beginning of a new relationship or the end of one—commemorate it.
• Perhaps it’s an investment—do it!
• It’s the perfect piece to round out an aspect of your collection—pounce!
• Or maybe it’s as a treat for yourself—just because.

Art Jewelry Forum’s international gallery supporters celebrate and exhibit art jewelry. Our monthly On Offer series allows this extensive network of international galleries to showcase extraordinary pieces personally selected to tempt and inspire you. Take a look. You’re bound to find a fantastic piece you simply have to add to your collection! (Please contact the gallery directly for inquiries.)

Gallery: Galeria Reverso
Contact: Paula Crespo
Artist: Daniel Kruger
Retail price: €4,680
The jewelry made by designer Daniel Kruger is meant to adorn a person. Its place is the body, and its intention is to enhance the wearer. It should be a celebration, to make the wearing of it an occasion. It is also, when not worn, an object for reflection. It is both jewelry and an artefact conceived and made by one person for the enjoyment and gratification of another person. Kruger balances mathematical patterns with softer organic lines, and his choice of materials give his work an aura of ancient treasure.

Gallery: Galerie Elsa Vanier
Contact: Elsa Vanier
Artist: Martin Spreng
Retail price: €4,400
In this brooch, the beautiful topaz crystal is underlined by titanium lines and platinum layers. Chiseling and stamping seem to mimic the crystalline structure and offer a geological landscape. Martin Spreng followed a career path from cabinetmaking to jewelry. He usually mixes fine gold, platinum, silver, wood, and crystals. His unique pieces, forged or hammered, reveal a sculptor’s approach, moved by the beauty of precious matters.

Gallery: Four Gallery
Contact: Karin Roy Andersson
Artist: Flóra Vági
Retail price: €580
Flóra Vági works mostly in natural materials like paper or, as in this case, wood. In her hands the materials develop into something new. It is as if she is giving water to a seed that grows to be a tree or a flower; covering a worm in silk, making it become a butterfly; or lighting a log on fire, turning it into a black piece of coal. She finds and brings out the soul of the material, and she gives it a new identity.

Gallery: Galeria Tereza Seabra
Contact: Tereza Seabra
Artist: Marta Costa Reis
Retail price: €900, plus shipping

“There are images that survive over time and whose significance doesn’t survive with them,” says Marta Costa Reis. “The historical and archeological records show us objects and symbols whose meaning has faded away. There is something inherently mysterious in that lost past, in our perceptions of what we no longer understand. The symbols of our own time will also be part of that group of mysterious images in a future we don’t have access to. We can’t know how the simple or complex things of our daily lives will be looked upon, the same way our gaze into the past is full of uncertainty. The feeling that there is something behind the veils of reality, which we can perhaps grasp, is part of that fascination, even if it is all a figment of our imagination. In this series of works I chose objects and shapes that interest me and played with them, making them familiar and finally usable. Some will be recognizable, some not so much. They are a moment in time, in a history we will never fully know. These pieces are question marks.”

Gallery: Baltimore Jewelry Center
Contact: Shane Prada
Artist: Emily Cobb
Retail price: US$220
Emily Cobb says this about one of her transformed rings, which is included in the collaborative group exhibition Transforming the Prototype: “The transformation of this prototype was inspired by its visual similarity to columnar basalt, a volcanic rock formed from the molten magma that emerges as lava during an eruption, cools, and forms hexagonal cracks called columnar joints or basalts. Molten lava and the process of melting casting grain share similar visuals, so when I was deciding how to transform the prototype’s hexagonal texture, I decided to use bronze casting grain.” See Emily’s work and 50 other transformations as part of Transforming the Prototype, at the Baltimore Jewelry Center, May 20–July 2, 2022.

Gallery: Fingers Gallery
Contact: Lisa Higgins
Artist: Carmen Burgi
Retail price: NZ$1,035
“I’m a New Zealander from the south of the south,” says Carmen Burgi, “and as such much of my work derives from the spectacular landscape and botanical beauty around me. My work usually ends up in a feeling of ‘organic-ness,’ in an undefined sense. The wearer may be unsure what it is exactly. A piece may infer both the land and sea, darkness and light, the sinister and ethereal, budding beauty or that of decay. The result is part my observation, part whimsy, and I hope, conveys my love of our island … New Zealand.”

Gallery: Thereza Pedrosa Gallery
Contact: Thereza Pedrosa
Artist: Gigi Mariani
Retail price: €1,440
Artists who make art jewelry sometimes use goldsmithing and art techniques that are thousands of years old, and it is the combination of the history embodied in techniques such as niello, granulation, or fire enamels, and the contemporary style of the artists that create a unique and fascinating result. Gigi Mariani employs niello, a sulfide used since the 5th century BC, in a pictorial and material way. The artist, by entirely covering his works with black sulfide, creates precious jewels that appear as reminiscent objects of the past corrupted by time and by the weathering experienced, but at the same time illuminated by the fleeting apparition of golden light.

Gallery: Galerie Marzee
Contact: Marie-José van den Hout
Artist: Jonathan Boyd
Retail price: €1,325
Jonathan Boyd’s latest work is a continuation of his earlier work where texts were incorporated into typesetting as if they came right out of the printing press. Computer technology and electroforming now make it possible to incorporate written text into his jewelry. His current exhibition, Emergent Dialogues of the Topophilic Line, is on display at Galerie Marzee until June 15, 2022. Parts of the exhibition will be on display at Schmuck – Frame, in Munich, from July 6–10, 2022.

Gallery: Platina Stockholm
Contact: Sofia Björkman
Artist: Julia Walter
Retail price: US$2,000
Julia Walter works with condensed form for complex matters where intuitive drawings create her motifs. She likes to play with the vision and wants to leave space for the wearer of the work. This pendant is made of reconstructed lapis lazuli. The size is big, as if it could be a real snake. Do you dare to wear it? Walter is a jewelry artist based in Amsterdam.

Gallery: Galerie Noel Guyomarc’h
Contact: Noel Guyomarc’h
Artist: Takashi Kojima
Retail price: CAN$6,100
Takashi Kojima lives and works in Japan. Characterized by impeccable geometric structures in silver and cut stones, the artist’s creations are inspired by architecture as well as manga and anime culture, such as Transformers characters, which are very popular in Japan. His constructions are intriguing, with no visible settings, as if the stones were held together by magic, ready to unfold.

Gallery: Galerie Spektrum
Contact: Jürgen Eickhoff
Artist: Detlef Thomas
Retail price: US$5000
Detlef Thomas’s theme was “the ultimate ring.” For him, it meant reducing the “ring” to its essentials. And he came to a very good result.

Gallery: Gallery Loupe
Contact: Patti Bleicher
Artist: Yutaka Minegishi
Retail price: US$3,200
Yutaka Minegishi studied metalwork at Hiko Mizuno College of Jewelry, in Tokyo, before moving to Germany, where he was a guest student at Fachhochschule, in Pforzheim. From 1996–2002, he studied under Otto Künzli at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Munich, from which he received a graduate degree in 2003. He has exhibited widely, including three solo shows at the prestigious Galerie Wittenbrink, in Munich, and group exhibitions at the National Gallery of Victoria; and at Project Space as part of Radiant Pavilion, at RMIT University, Melbourne. Minegishi is the recipient of several awards, including DAAD Preis (2003); Bayerischer Staatspreis (2014); and Förderpreis der Landeshauptstadt (2016), Munich. He is in several important collections, including the Pinakothek der Moderne, die Neue Sammlung, Munich; Stichting Françoise van den Bosch, Amsterdam; Hiko Mizuno College of Jewelry, Tokyo; Muzeum Českého Ráje, Turnov, Czech Republic; and Alice and Louis Koch Collection, Swiss National Museum, Zurich. In 2019 Minegishi was included in Schmuck, at the IHM, in Munich, where he was a recipient of the coveted Herbert Hofmann Prize.

The post On Offer appeared first on Art Jewelry Forum.

June 2022, Part 1

Art Jewelry Forum is pleased to share the news that members of our community find noteworthy. Is something missing? The success of this compilation of compelling events, news, and items of interest to the jewelry community depends on YOUR participation. If you’re a member of AJF at the Silver level or above, you can add news and ideas to this bi-monthly report by going here. If you aren’t a member, but would like to become one, join AJF here.
Listings gathered with assistance from Carrie Yodanis.

AJF LIVE + MAD: RON PORTER AND JOE PRICE: JUNE 29, 2022

Join us for a special PRIDE edition of “In the MAD Loupe”! Our guests, who are partners in life and in collecting, will discuss their studio and contemporary jewelry collection, some of which will be acquired for MAD’s permanent collection. Drawn to works with compelling stories, design, and craftsmanship, Porter and Price have created a collection informed by their life experiences, including as members of the LGBTQ+ community. Their contemporary craft collection began with a focus on ceramic sculpture related to the human figure. This led to a natural interest in narrative studio jewelry. For the last 15 year, they have primarily focused on expanding their collection of studio and contemporary jewelry. Free. Register here.

FEEL LIKE SEEING A JEWELRY SHOW?

Find these listings and many, many more on our dedicated exhibition page:

• Atelier Munsteiner Four-Day Show, at de novo, June 15–18, 2022
• Yutaka Minegishi/Lucky Swine, at Gallery Loupe through July 5, 2022
• Jonathan Boyd: Emergent Dialogues of the Topophilic Line, at Galerie Marzee through June 15, 2022
• Peace and Protection: Julia Walter, at Platina Stockholm through June 18, 2022
• Navegar é Preciso: Bettina Speckner, at Galeria Tereza Seabra through July 2, 2022
• Tatjana Giorgadse’s solo exhibition at Galerie Door

FROM OUR MEMBERS

ANNOUNCING THE 30TH INTERNATIONAL JEWELLERY COMPETITION “TOUCH” WINNERS!

The award ceremony of the Legnica Jewellery Festival Silver is behind us. The first prize, the Grand Prix of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, was awarded to Andrzej Szadkowski, a recognized Polish goldsmith whose work with the meaningful title Painful Touch of Time refers to the war in Ukraine. The second prize went to Rudolf M. Sheffold, from Germany, whose brooch entitled Spring impressed the jury with its precision and perfect design. The third award—the Prize of the President of the City of Legnica—went to Agnieszka Działo-Jabłońska for the brooch Touch-Painted Love Colours. The Gallery of Art Award went to Peter Machata, from Slovakia, for his work made of Plexiglas, while the Silver Spur—the Organizers’ special award for creative courage and uncompromising attitude, innovation, or sense of humor—went to Zhipeng Wang, who presented in Legnica a set of rings made of tea and coffee. The honored artists also received a very special award, referring to the tradition of the region: a silver granulate funded by KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. – Polish Copper Mining Company. In addition to prizes awarded by the jury, the artists were also honored with extra-statutory prizes from sponsors and partners of the Festival: Yes Gallery, from Poznań; MyDayByDay Gallery, from Rome; Inhorgenta International Fair, from Munich; International Amber Association, from Gdańsk; Polish Association of Goldsmiths; Lost in Jewellery magazine; and the Hopea and Usługi Odlewnicze (Foundry Services) companies.

SEE THE TRANSFORMING THE PROTOTYPE EXHIBITION

Participating artists received a wax version of a vintage ring, then transformed it through additive or subtractive processes, as wax or after casting. The resulting work demonstrates the infinite possibilities of lost wax casting while making connections between fine jewelry and conceptual jewelry. At Baltimore Jewelry Center through July 1, 2022.

 IN PARIS MID-MONTH? DON’T MISS ELSA VANIER’S LATEST EXHIBITION

De l’Infrarouge á l’Outremer (From Infrared to Ultramarine) features colorful works made with high-fire enamel, anodization, oxidation, or organic matter. (Vanier’s gallery is now nomadic. See the show June 14­–18, 2022, at Galerie Chéret, 11 Rue Mayet, 75007 Paris.)

DESIGN WORKSHOP FOCUSED ON RECYCLED MATERIALS

Archivio Negroni is holding a jewelry design workshop called Circular in Name and in Fact, June 8 and 12, 2022. It’s an introduction to jewelry design that focuses on using recycled materials, overcoming the logic of simple assembly. Get info.

LOUISA GUINNESS GALLERY SHIFTS TO ONLINE-ONLY

“I will be more nimble and able to do lots of different things. I will be steering the gallery in a new direction, working from home,” says Guinness. She plans continue to focus on secondary market, particularly Calder and Lalanne, but is also interested in supporting the younger generation of upcoming designers and goldsmiths.

MEN EMERGE AS THE NEW JEWELRY TASTEMAKERS

Historically, men wore the jewels, but Renaissance women asserted themselves. Since then, men’s jewelry has seen highs and lows in popularity. Today, fueled by gender fluidity, freedom of expression, and anti-establishment sentiment, more men are wearing bling, especially for high-profile occasions. Phillips auction house shares key moments in the story of men’s jewels. Thanks to Ron Porter for sending this in!

ATTEND “GOLDSMITH, SILVERSMITH, ART SMITH,” A LECTURE ABOUT … YOU GUESSED IT, ART SMITH

A Black, gay man in mid-twentieth century America, Smith ran a bustling studio shop in New York City’s Greenwich Village for 30 years. Historian Toni Greenbaum shares the story of his life and jewels and their lasting impact. Sponsored by GemX, and guest hosted by jewelry designer Jameel Mohammed, of Khiry. June 8, 2022, 12:00PM EST, online. Register here.

JOYCE J. SCOTT AWARDED AN HONORARY DOCTORATE OF HUMANE LETTERS

Johns Hopkins University recognized Scott’s significant contributions to the visual arts, from beadwork to performance to sculpture, as well as her visionary commitment to art as a conduit for honoring history and for conveying profoundly resonant commentary on cultural stereotypes, systemic racism, and healing. Congratulations! To honor Scott, Mobilia Gallery has organized a traveling exhibition of the artist’s most recent work. It will start in January 2023.

OBITUARY: FLORA BOOK

The respected jewelry artist passed away on April 7, 2022. Book learned to make jewelry in the 1980s, at the University of Washington, under Professor Mary Lee Hu. Book wanted to pursue it further, but she and her husband spent half of the year in Seattle and half in the UK. To continue making jewelry, she had to find a way to work in a tiny English flat, and a way of working that could travel between both countries. Her solution: she began stringing short lengths of sterling tube on nylon fishing line to create her signature garment-like work. Book could travel light and make jewelry wherever she landed: a brilliant solution. Flora’s work is included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Smithsonian, the Tacoma Art Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Flora Book’s website.

CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS GRAD SHOWS 2022

All disciplines will show graduation work at the same time/same place for the first time. Meet the artists, designers, and innovators of the future as they spring into the world. Previews take place June 14–15, 2022, and require reservations. The show is up June 16–22 without reservations.

NEW HIRES ANNOUNCED IN THE ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS MUNICH’S JEWELRY DEPARTMENT

Nadine Kuffner has joined the team as artistic assistant. Jasmin Matzakow, who did a great job for the class over the last five and a half years, has started her new job as assistant to the Akademie’s president, Karen Pontoppidan. This created another position, so David Clarke has been brought on as Guest Professor.

JEWELRY JOURNEY INTERVIEWS NAN SUMMERFIELD

The Senior VP of California Operations of Doyle Auction House discusses what a jewelry wardrobe is and how to create one. Why have brand recognition and signed jewelry become so important in the last 20 years? How have antique shows changed? Why has it become more difficult to find quality jewelry at shows? Find out by listening to the podcast.

THE LOCATION SERVICES EXHIBITION PRESENTS PERSPECTIVES ON PLACE

The crafting of jewelry and objects is a means to profoundly support and express identity. Motoko Furuhashi, Kerianne Quick, and Demitra Thomloudis observe site, place, and origin within historical and contemporary contexts of craft and the inseparable bond place has to individuality, society, and culture. At the Craft in America Center, June 25–September 10, 2022. Info.

MUSEUM OF BEADWORK GIVES A SNEAK PEEK

During the extended renovation of their new gallery space, they want to give a glimpse of the types of artwork that will be displayed once the museum opens. Check it out.

EVENTS

ORIZZONTE D’AUTORE BIENNIAL

Conceived by Thereza Pedrosa, the biennial will include a group exhibition, a Giampaolo Babetto retrospective, a lifetime achievement award, book presentations, an artist’s talk by Giovanni Corvaja, a guided tour by Eliana Negroni, and several conferences. At the Civic Museum of Asolo, in Italy through July 24, 2022. Info on Instagram; museum website.

ASSOCIATION FOR CONTEMPORARY JEWELLERY 2022 CONFERENCE

Conference themes for Beyond Silver: 25 Years of the ACJ include Jewellery as a Social Connector; Jewellery: Meanings and Messages; Democratising the Field?; Jewellery as Art; and New Voices. At Exeter University, England, July 1–3, 2022.

SCHMUCK: JULY 6–10, 2022

AJF will be there with: a joint book presentation by AJF and Arnoldsche: Taming the Beast. Silver by Earl Krentzin (presented by Dirk Allgaier), In Flux: American Jewelry and the Counterculture: Political Jewelry in the 1960s and 1970s (AJF/Susan Cummins), Eleanor Moty: Quiet Elegance  (Matthew Drutt), North by Northwest: The Jewelry of Laurie Hall (AJF/Susan Cummins); Friday, July 8, 2022,10am – 12pm, Galerie Handwerk, auditorium, 80333 München, Max-Josef-Str. 4, Tel. +49 089 5119 298. AJF in Conversation: Collecting: The Next Generation. Detailed information is coming soon. Saturday, July 9, 2022, 10am-12pm, coffee/pastries included, Galerie Handwerk, auditorium, 80333 München, Max-Josef-Str. 4, Tel. +49 089 5119 298. AJF Presents the 2022 Young Artist Award Winner: Join AJF as we introduce and celebrate winner Mallory Weston. We’ll also give a brief slide show of the four finalists’ work at the IHM (Internationale Handwerksmesse) Main Stage on Saturday, July 9, 5:15 p.m. This important biennial competition offers a prize of US$7,500 for the winner and US$1,000 for each finalist, as well as an exhibition at Platina Stockholm during Schmuck.

MUNICH JEWELLERY WEEK

The annual Munich Jewellery Week showcases innovative contemporary jewelry by both established and up-and-coming designers from around the world. July 4–10, 2022.

GOLDSMITHS’ FAIR CELEBRATES 40 YEARS IN EXISTENCE

From wire work to 3D printing, traditional goldsmithing to intricate engraving, the 136 exhibitors from the UK combine ancient techniques with modern-day technologies. At Goldsmiths’ Hall, London, September 27­–October 9, 2022. Info.

BUDAPEST JEWELRY WEEK: SEPTEMBER 12–18, 2022

Info.

ROMANIAN JEWELRY WEEK: OCTOBER 6–9, 2022

Applications are now open to designers in Romania and worldwide—emerging as well as established artists. Deadline: June 17, 2022. Learn more.

ISRAEL BIENNALE OF CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY: NOVEMBER 10–14, 2022

Hosted by the Geological Museum, in Ramat Hasharon. AJF is an official sponsor. Info.

OPPORTUNITIES

OPEN POSITION FOR THREE-YEAR TEACHING FELLOWSHIP AT BJC

Deadline extended: June 15, 2022. The BJC is offering one three-year teaching fellowship; start date August 2022. In addition to gaining teaching experience, the selected fellow will develop pedagogical skills, build leadership experience, and play an influential part of a vibrant community. Applicants should have an MFA in metals and/or jewelry, or a BFA in metals and/or jewelry with work experience. Some prior teaching experience is highly preferred. Info.

JOB OPENING: SENIOR TUTOR (RESEARCH) JEWELLERY & METAL

This is a full time position at the School of Arts & Humanities at the Royal College of Art at Battersea. Application deadline: June 26, 2022. Info.

BJC SEEKS EXHIBITION PROPOSALS

The Baltimore Jewelry Center is currently seeking exhibition proposals for its 2023/2024 gallery schedule. Proposals are not limited to jewelry and might include thematic exhibitions or exhibitions showcasing an artist or group of artists. They want exhibitions that explore the gallery setting in an unexpected way, seek to place jewelry and craft within a larger context and expand connections in our community at large. The goal is to demonstrate unique curatorial viewpoints, expose their audience to fresh and emerging makers and ideas, and present art jewelry and metalsmithing in a broader art context. They’re especially excited to see proposals that create a diverse and inclusive gallery space in order to elevate underrepresented voices. Deadline: July 8, 2022. Info. Email with any questions.

ARTIST RESIDENCY AT CRAFT ALLIANCE, ST LOUIS, MO, USA

Artists share a private studio and have access to Craft Alliance’s six main studio areas; receive a monthly materials stipend and professional development reimbursement fund; tuition waivers for workshops per session; teaching and other professional development opportunities; and a culminating group exhibition in Craft Alliance Staenberg Gallery. Application deadline: July 1, 2022. Info.

OPEN CALL FOR ENJOIA’T CONTEMPORARY JEWELLERY AWARD

The prize rewards technical quality, originality, conceptual richness, and transgression in jewelry. Deadline: June 5, 2022. Information.

ARROWMONT VISIONS INTERNSHIP, GATLINBURG, TN, USA

To help shape the future of a more diverse and equitable arts and craft administrative field in central Appalachia, this internship opportunity provides arts administration experience to those who want a career within their own Appalachian communities. Arrowmont welcomes BIPOC applicants currently residing in, or from one of the qualifying central Appalachian counties to apply. Support includes: $6,000 stipend for a ten-week internship, housing on Arrowmont’s campus, meals, travel reimbursement, and financial support for professional development opportunities. Fall application due July 1, 2022. Spring applications open August 1, 2022. Info.

CALL FOR EXHIBITION: JEWELRY AND LITERATURE

Tincal lab asks: Jewelry and literature—how do these two worlds meet? Jewelers are invited to look to the vast and rich world of literature for inspiration: a favorite author, a remarkable book, an unforgettable character, a support or writing instrument that you consider indispensable. Application deadline: June 30, 2022. Info.

OPEN CALL: ISRAEL BIENNALE OF CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY

Open to anyone: professional, studying, emerging artists working in the field of jewelry, all countries and nationalities. Theme: Colorful Recovery. “After a long period of uncertainty, insecurity, fear, and sometimes even despair, one begins to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s time to add color and joy to our lives.” Application deadline: June 23, 2022. Info.

OPEN CALL: PARCOURS BIJOUX

Seeking original themes for qualitative events. Deadline: June 20, 2022. Info. Application form in English.

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