New Exhibition explores the blur zone between fine art and Jewelry making
A new exhibition exploring the relationship between key artists and jewelry is currently being mounted at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Max Ernst, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Jeff Koons and Anish Kapoor are some of the 20th century’s greatest and best known artists. What is less well known are the incredible works of sculptural beauty created by these artists in the form of jewelry. Guest curated by Diane Venet (featured in the accompanying video), with over 180 masterpieces, Picasso To Koons: The Artist As Jeweler explores works from an array of artists, not known as jewelers, who have created stunning works of jewelry both reminiscent of their existing artistic vocabulary and in other instances representing a striking departure from their oeuvre. These richly imaginative pieces were never intended for mainstream production, but rather were created as one-of-a-kind pieces or limited editions, that were often personal gifts made for family and friends, revealing an intimate view into the lives of the artists who created them. The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue published by Flammarion/Rizzoli.
The Museum of Arts and Design (“MAD”) explores the blur zone between art, design, and craft today. Accredited by the American Association of Museums since 1991, MAD focuses on contemporary creativity and the ways in which artists and designers from around the world transform materials through processes ranging from the artisanal to the digital. For nearly half a century, MAD has served as the country’s premier institution dedicated to the collection and exhibition of contemporary objects created in media such as clay, glass, wood, metal, and fiber. The seed for MAD, however, was planted almost 70 years ago, when Aileen Osborn Webb—the nation’s premier craft patron and benefactor—established the American Craftsmen’s Council in 1942.
The exhibition runs September 20, 2011 – January 8, 2012 MAD 2 Columbus Circle New York, NY 10019