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For over four millennia, artists have been considered bellwethers, those sought-after
trendsetters who play a leading role in style and design innovation. Historically, one can
trace prevalent trends in culture as precursors to societal change: artists' involvement in
fashion, literature, music, performance, and the visual arts has made significant
contributions to the social climate.
The social and intellectual position of the artist changed radically during the 16th century;
the Renaissance brought a heightened interaction between patron and artist. Previously
seen as tradesman, occupying a relatively low social position, artists were henceforth
considered creators of important work with complex content and cultural message,
persons who conversed with philosophers and negotiated with kings and popes. It was
during this time that the role of jewelry and what are today considered more traditional
media, such as painting and sculpture, bifurcated, the former gradually becoming
known as “craft” and the latter deemed “fine art.” This divergence did not dissuade
many great painters and sculptors from continuing to create jewelry regardless of its
perceived status.
Internationally renowned individuals from virtually every major artistic genre over the past
five centuries have created jewelry-based artworks that not only resonate on their own,
but also transform their wearers. A few examples of artists whose works have recently
been included in major international museum exhibitions of jewelry include: Pablo
Picasso, Georges Braque, Max Ernst, Salvador Dali, Alberto Giacometti, Rene Magritte,
Alexander Calder, Robert Rauschenberg, Man Ray, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Sol
LeWitt, Louise Nevelson, Nam June Paik, Louise Bourgeois, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons,
Jenny Holzer, Anish Kapoor, and Kiki Smith.
Historically, these innovative fine artists have shattered boundaries between the viewer
and the artwork, fashioning a fascinating new creative language. Bridging disparate
schools of practice, they reunite the detailed, material focus of “craft” with the
conceptual depth and personal connection of “fine art.” The wearer of these works of art
extols a calculated message, their body not only a canvas or backdrop but rather an
integral part of the composition and its aesthetic appeal.
Recently, the line between craft and fine art has again begun a convergence: artists
have embraced the freedom to dance between the two with facility. This reconciliation
has been highlighted by several important international art museums, resulting in the
display of necklaces, rings, bracelets, and brooches in galleries traditionally dedicated
to painting and sculpture. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston recently built a gallery and
hired a renowned curator solely dedicated to the research, display, and preservation of
the world’s finest examples of works of art in the medium of jewelry. The Beyeler
Foundation and the Guggenheim Museum have also recently acquired and exhibited
works in this medium. Reaching far beyond diamonds and pearls, forward-thinking
museums are celebrating jewelry’s powerful and historical legacy as a tool of helpful
insight into the psyche of an artist.
For two decades, Claire Oliver Gallery has proven itself to be an institution that
champions a dedication to physical process, commitment to craft, and intensity of detail balanced with conceptual content. As such, the Gallery is uniquely poised to
invite contemporary mainstays and next generation talent alike to create new works for
an important exhibition of wearable artistic innovations. With this exhibition, Claire Oliver
Gallery continues its quest to knock down barriers among media and to foster and
encourage artists to actualize groundbreaking work.
In presenting Beyond Bling, The Artist As Jeweler, Claire Oliver Gallery stays true to its
commitment to challenge, dazzle, and surprise the viewer with works of art that require
examination, contemplation, and interaction; the intellectual connection between the
observer and the work of art is of the utmost importance to the Gallery.
Beyond Bling: The Artist as Jeweler will feature over 30 established and emerging artists
with works created specifically for this exhibition. While some will be unique objects, other
examples will be produced in limited editions. Working in a wide variety of media,
invited artists will utilize disparate materials including mirror, crystal, stained and blown
glass, paint, stoneware, rapid prototyping, collage, photography, video, precious and
semi-precious metals, to name but a few. This important exhibition will be documented
with an illustrated catalogue and is planned to travel to public institutions throughout the
country.
www.claireoliver.com
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