August 19 – September 20, 2015

Jo Pond: Intimate

An exhibition of new works by the UK based artist

August 19 – September 20, 2015

Artist’s Reception: Friday August 21, 6-8pm

*Exhibition catalog is available.

Jo Pond’s most recent jewelry works can be seen as reincarnated objects, relics of everyday urban life that have been transformed by the artist’s process. Material elements such as buttons, coins, cans, and keys are modified and reinterpreted, simultaneously creating new narratives for each piece while drawing from each object’s industrial heritage and unique past. Precious metals and stones such as diamonds or pearls are often included in combination with these found objects, playing with visual and conceptual notions around beauty and the mundane, social status, and hierarchical value or worth.

Born in Chiswick, London, Pond currently lives and works in rural Staffordshire. Her work has exhibited on an international level; highlights include exhibits at Schmuck (Munich), the V&A Museum, (London), the Price Tower Arts Centre (Oklahoma), and Contemporary Applied Arts (London). Pond’s Narrative Jewelry Collection received the 2005 BDI Industry & Genius Awards in the category of Products and Genius. The artist earned her Masters at The School of Jewellery, Birmingham and is a member of Contemporary Applied Arts, London. She presently serves as a full-time lecturer at the School of Jewelery in addition to maintaining her studio practice.

Statement from the Artist:

“Using found objects is like starting the process of creating with part of the story already written. I am able to choreograph, make introductions and interventions. I may add and remove lines within the story and then watch to see if they read true to me, sometimes living with them in one form or another, still, watching and listening for them to tell me when they are comfortable and appropriate. I have a bond with each stage, a personal connection, one of belonging, a reluctance to let go or and an uncomfortable enjoyment of that which I have choreographed. Saving these intimate moments by capturing them safely in photographs, I am able to intervene once again, in the knowledge that I can recall that grouping and the essence of relationship it brings. My compositions work more happily in groups, sometimes the harmony of material, color or repetition compels the creation of a family, a void being left once one conclusion is made and moved to one side to free space for further meanderings. The conclusions are the quietest moments, following a multitude of compositional conversations it is necessary to listen to the outcomes to know if they are complete. There is a sense of separation at this point, the umbilical cord becomes severed and some of the tension seeps away, leaving me comforted in my decision making process.

There are phases, maybe somewhat fickle, where I have a changing passion for that which I find. Sometimes time, location or circumstance can influence these phases, but they mark a point of change and must be consciously considered. It is all part of being true to the visual conversation being orchestrated, alongside the voluntary and involuntary narratives, which serve to conduct my metaphor.”

– Jo Pond, 2015