Art, craft come together at contemporary jewelry exhibit
Any mention of jewelry brings to mind gemstones, diamonds or gold. But that is not the case at the contemporary jewelry show under way at the HOW Art Museum Design Center.
Here, you are more likely to find smart rings made from recycled paper, 3D printed plastics and electronics parts; necklaces composed of faux leather, wooden beads and wires; and brooches of shell, mother of pearl and bone china. A piece of jewelry is no longer appreciated for the rarity of the materials, but rather the union of art with craft.
A joint effort of College of Design and Innovation of Tongji University, the exhibition “Three Times,” features 500 pieces of artworks created by nearly 300 artists from 34 countries and regions. The exhibition runs until January 6.
The artworks in the “Intimate Encounter” section were selected through a public invitation that was open internationally for 18 months. The works “Like Attracts Like” was selected and sent to international galleries.
“Arty Game” consists of artworks from outstanding contemporary visual artists, while “Viva La Different” features a collection selected by curators from 10 countries and regions.
Timewisely, they showcase the past — tradition and singularity, the present — existence of diverse values and dimensions, and the future — a reality that does not exist yet but remains a possibility.
“For the Land of Eternal Cherry Blossoms,” necklace, by Jivan Astfalck
"The Ferns," earrings, by Trudie Gardiner
Jivan Astfalck, from Germany, believes jewelry is a “wearable art” that cannot be separated from our origins, emotions, dreams and stories, memories and traces of time in any social framework.
Her necklace “For the Land of Eternal Cherry Blossoms,” for example, is made from the oak branches in her parents’ garden.
Likewise, in Chinese artist Li Tingyu’s “The Lost Homeland” series, all the brooches bear the traditional Chinese cottage houses in black and white by using traditional enamel craft.
Australian artist Trudie Gardiner uses sliver, cotton and polyester stuffing to create a series of earrings in the shape of hanging ferns. That ferns can thrive in any circumstances become a unique character of the person who wears them, which also echoes the symbiotic relationship between human society and nature.
Over the past decades, the world has seen a boom in the development of contemporary jewelry. The participation of visual artists in jewelry creation has also given them a form of expression and a language of creation. Modernist masters, such as Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali, have also created jewelry.
This time, all together 16 contemporary visual artists have brought their very first crossover efforts into the realm of jewelry to the exhibition.
Among them are works such as Chinese artists Yu Hong’s pendant “Speak My Heart Out to You” and Wu Jian’an’s earings “Ears, One Keen and One Sharp.”
The jewelry items created by them are more than wearable pieces of art, rather a unique symbol that can epitomize how a society and culture perceives “value” in a specific time and space.
All jewelry pieces will be on sale at the end of the exhibition.
“Speak My Heart Out to You,” pendant, by Yu Hong
“Ears, One Keen and One Sharp,” earrings, by Wu Jian’an
Exhibition Info
Date: January 6 (closed on Mondays), 1-10pm; Saturday-Sunday 10am-10pm
Venue: 3/F, HOW Art Museum
Address: 2277 Zuchongzhi Rd, Pudong New Area
