The Art of Jewelry in America

As art jewelry comes into its posses in America, galleries are clasping onto the trend and finding success with the art/jewelry mix.

The Art of Jewelry in America

Throughout the world, body ornamentation is an old and time-honored art covert Yet in the United States, jewelry as art has only recently come into its own

Such art is not the series of gold tennis manacles lined up in a glass circumstance at the mall. Nor is it the ornament of a single musician whose bastinado puts it into lot production. These are handcrafted, one-of-a-kind works conceived and executed by the musician with all the specialized elements and aesthetics that manage it across the file into the domain of fine art

“The distinction between mass-produced jewelry and art jewelry is not fair in the quantity but the design,” said jewelry performer Gretchen Kubacky of Los Angeles. “I’ve empirical some stunningly high-quality designs in a area pantry that wouldn’t be considered fine art, and I’ve empitic $5,000 diamond earrings that own no ornament excellence to them Art is in the eye of the beholder” All kinds of jewelry such as rampant costume jewelry,fashion jewelry wholesale,wholesale jewelry,jewelry supply,pearl jewelry,body jewelry

Kubacky identifies her obtain assignment as “ethnicized contemporary” jewelry pinched from historical images, as well as vessel and folk art She uses sterling silver, high-quality stones and pearls, but she likes to brew them up, putting hand-made stones from India with cultured pearls–the fine and the not-so-fine–to generate a additional hand-made appearance

“Jewelry-as-art depends on function and intimacy,” wrote Carolyn Morris Bach, who exhibits her bone-and-precious metal jewelry at high-end expositions and in select fine art galleries across the country “Every piece of jewelry that leaves the studio is wholly hand-fabricated by me. While I strive for perfection in my ornament and craftsmanship, I am not overly concerned that every sett requires perfectly rounded edges or that every aspect be an exact replication of its match If this is art, it should be partner and unique and preserve for the viewer deliberate traces of the decisions for fabrication; the pathway of the hands through materials”

Herein lies the realm of distinction between commercial jewelry and jewelry as fine art Part of the exodus lies in the purpose or intention slow the piece, whether it was made to be sold in unit at a advantage and ultimately worn, or if it was created for the wellbeing of art–art that was drudge crafted, using unconventional materials or traditional materials in offbeat ways The closer the artist remains to the creative process, the closer the jewelry is to fine art

“The difference is the same for jewelry as it is for the more decorative arts, such as glass and ceramics,” oral jewelry musician and photographer Douglas Steakley, who exhibits jewelry and additional fine crafts at his Concepts Gallery in Carmel, Calif. “You can advise when they mend into fine art because they cease being functional, or they become sculptural objects themselves,” Steakley verbal “Still, there remains a vast gray field of pieces that are semi-functional or are aesthetic but identifiable, wearable jewelry.”

Steakley and his wife Jacqueline founded Concepts 15 years ago as a gallery featuring the venture of jewelry artists like Carolyn Morris Bach, Sydney Lynch and further Their criteria were that each piece had to be unique, well-developed and identifiable–the entertainer had to originate a signature

“Concepts hasn’t changed much,” he said, “except to introduce glass and photography that materialize the twin pleasing criteria It’s a profit mix. Glass, in particular, provides a nice contrast to the jewelry It’s larger, visually interesting and colorful It’s besides more accessible than jewelry.”

Jewelry continues to make inroads into fine art venues such as galleries, high-end shows and expos, and it is creating totally a presence in the marketplace.

Patina Gallery in Santa Fe, NM, dedicates half of its expansive orifice to art jewelry and the account to more fine crafts Owned by Allison Barnett and directed by her husband, jewelry trouper Ivan Barnett, the midpoint two-year-old gallery is famous for representing some of the boon art jewelry in the world

“We make a gargantuan commitment to European jewelry artists,” verbal Ivan. “At lot of what I would dub the cutting-edge of art jewelry is coming out of Europe Theirs is a different, abstergent aesthetic American jewelry artists are additional decadent–not in a mildewed way–but there is a pared-down sort about the European designs. Americans are dormant tied a little supplementary to the precious materials, principally because America is so doorstep driven Not to misrepresent the quality and graceful of many fine American artists, but Europeans are more closely aligned with our philosophy; creating surprises for family who keep goodly sensibilities and deficiency item means off the track”

For the elapsed 23 years, the William Zimmer Gallery in Mendocino, Calif., has presented an “eclectic, expansive and imaginative mountain of contemporary arts” in both traditional and keel media Along with sculpture, illustration and furniture, it specializes in fine art jewelry with assignment from Morris Bach, Lynch, Abrasha and others