I
s jewelry art? There are factions of the jewelry world that spend a certain amount of time making a case that it is. I don’t generally worry about these categorizations or semantics, because I am very satisfied with the creations of jewelry designers being called jewelry. Afterall, conceiving and creating a great piece is an extraordinary achievement in and of itself. Basically, I love jewelry and don’t feel like it needs to try and be anything else.
Header image features Cadar
There is no doubt these designers are making artistic statements, if not by strict definition art.
Mike Joseph
Image courtesy of TenThousandThings
There are some jewelry designers, however, who approach their work so creatively, and unconventionally, it does make me want to employ the A-word in some capacity. COUTURE talents CADAR, MIKE JOSEPH and TEN THOUSAND THINGS all work with gold like sculptors.
I look at certain pieces these designers make and think of the wire sculptures of Ruth Asawa or the large plates of Richard Serra, the molten forms of Alberto Giacometti or the abstract geometries of David Smith. There is no doubt these designers are making artistic statements, if not by strict definition art.
Image courtesy of Mike Joseph
Mike Joseph
Generally, jewelry is designed to flow around the body for fit, but Mike Joseph draws outside the lines so to speak with his Shiva collection. Necklaces, rings, bracelets and earrings move up and off the body in unexpected ways.
Image courtesy of Mike Joseph
The designer’s intention is to express strength and beauty in the brushed gold selectively punctuated with diamonds and emeralds. He succeeds and stretches the boundaries of jewelry with these iconoclastic sculptural creations.
Image courtesy of Mike Joseph
Image courtesy of Mike Joseph
Image courtesy of TenThousandThings
Ten Thousand Things
Ron Anderson and David Rees, the creative minds behind Ten Thousand Things, are always thinking about the forms in their distinctive jewels. They ponder how elements interplay and touch one another. They meditate on the shape of the gold.
Image courtesy of TenThousandThings
All the reflecting on contours and configurations makes the jewelry from Ten Thousand Things among the most intelligent on the market. It glows with ideas and a lot of soul.
Image courtesy of TenThousandThings
Image courtesy of TenThousandThings
Image courtesy of Cadar
Cadar
Cadar Creative Director, Michal Kadar, approached the eternal concept of snakes in jewelry differently than most through her Python collection. She doesn’t make a figural snake. Instead, Michal took the motif of a snake’s scales and sculpted them in bold gold wide chokers, bracelets, earrings and rings.
Image courtesy of Cadar
The abstracted concept made for some incredible statement pieces that push the boundaries of gold jewelry.
Image courtesy of Cadar
Image courtesy of Cadar
Founder and Editorial Director of the online fine jewelry magazine The Adventurine, Marion Fasel is as well known for trend forecasting as her comprehensive knowledge of jewelry history. She has written 10 books on 20th century jewelry design.
You May Also Like
-
Trend Report: Hoop De Doo
As the saying goes on ye old internet memes, “Summer should be given a speeding ticket.” The season flew by, as per usual, and suddenly we are looking...
Read Now 3 Min Read -
Trend Spotting with Archana Thani
While an exceptional curation of designer fine jewelry is always a given at COUTURE, this year’s show was unlike any other. For one, the boundaries of luxury are...
Read Now 2 Min Read -
Trend Report: Super-Size It
Just two short months ago, I wrote about “Mini Marvels” for this trend column. Well, that look was going strong all over the new collections at COUTURE. But...
Read Now 3 Min Read