Holidays at Velvet da Vinci 
The 24th Annual Holiday Celebration 

Including ornaments from our gallery artists and a wide variety of special holiday gifts. Continue reading →

Tom Hill: Buckle

January 21 – February 28, 2015

Opening Reception: Friday January 23, 6-8 pm

Tom Hill is a sculptor, draftsman, and jeweler whose work is an exploration of the natural world, most notably in sculptural objects depicting birds and animals in motion.  Utilizing materials such as mild steel wire, copper, enamel, pigments, and most recently hand-dyed and found textiles, the artist creates objects that often imply, in effect, a three-dimensional “sketch.”  His most recent series of wearable pieces examines a commonly underappreciated object – the belt buckle.  Both ornamental and operational in nature, the belt buckle simultaneously serves as a clasp for fastening two ends and a personal statement of individuality.  Hill’s one-of-a-kind buckles play with this notion of form vs. function, exploring aesthetic and functional methods of binding, stitching, and joining. From the summation of many parts, one individual object is fastened. Keeping your pants up, artfully.

Born in Rochford, Essex, England, Hill studied at Ipswich School of Art and Middlesex University, London and currently lives and work in San Francisco.  His work has exhibited at museums and galleries on an international level; highlights include solo exhibitions at ARTspace at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (Sheboygan, WI), the Fuller Craft Museum (Brockton, MA), and the De Morgan Centre, (London, UK).  The artist’s pieces can be found globally in corporate, public, and private collections; notable commissions include projects for the Hyatt Regency Hotel (Tampa, FL), the BBC Symphony Orchestra (London, UK), and the John Lewis Department Store (Southampton, UK).  His work has been included in numerous publications such as Metalsmith magazine (US),CRART Magazine (South Korea), as well as Lark Books’ 500 Broches and 1000 Rings.  Hill has been represented by Velvet da Vinci for nearly two decades.  

Tom Hill, Enamel Grid, 2014, Brass, copper, vitreous enamel, gold leaf

Tom Hill, Blue Moon, 2014, Carved basswood, brass, enamel paint , acrylic paint , gesso , gold leaf

Tom Hill, Stitched White Canvas Oval, 2014, Block Printed Canvas, hand dyed cotton lawn, polyester thread, mild steel

Tom Hill, Stitched Vertical Bars, 2014, Hand dyed canvas, cotton lawn, polyester thread, mild steel

Tom Hill, Large Owl Head, 2015, Mild Steel

Tom Hill, Six Squares, 2014, Carved basswood, brass, acrylic paint, white gold leaf

Tom Hill, Wire Oblong, 2014, Mild Steel

Tom Hill, Spiral Pair, 2015, Mild Steel, gold leaf

Tom Hill, Red Square, 2015, Carved basswood, copper, brass, gesso, acrylic paint

Tom Hill, Stitched Hoops, 2015, Hand dyed cotton, found denim, polyester thread, mild steel

Tom Hill, Studio View, 2015

Tom Hill, Buckle Sketch 1, 2014

Tom Hill, Buckle Sketch 2, 2014

Tom Hill, Buckle Sketch 3, 2014

To download a PDF of the full press release, CLICK HERE.

January 21- February 28, 2015

Opening Reception: Friday January 23, 6-8 pm

Inspired by a recent tour of European museums, palaces, and treasure houses, Jane Dodd: Rococo Revolution illustrates the artist’s simultaneous experience of seduction and repulsion to the sumptuous and decadent housing of these elite collections. Referencing a contemporary interpretation of the late Baroque aesthetic, Dodd’s meticulously carved bone and wood pieces take the form of wearable objects, each representing symbolic elements drawn from the natural world.  According to the New Zealand based artist:

“Rococo Revolution… illustrates my discomfort with the way we hoover up wildlife and environment for our own frivolous ends. With these pendants I want to honor the simple, elegant forms of the animal world. The subject of the brooches is the battle between nature and culture. The collection of works pays homage to the crazy and rich craft traditions of the Rococo Age.”

Prior to studying 3D Design/Jewelry at the Unitec Institute of Technology in Auckland, Dodd earned a BA in the Phenomenology of Religion with additional papers in Anthropology, Art History, Maori Language and Philosophy from the University of Otago. Her jewelry has appeared in publications such as the book 21st Century Jewellery: the best of the 500 series and can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, The Dowse Art Museum (NZ), and Hawkes Bay Museum (NZ).  With a background in both music and the arts, Dodd is also known on an international level for her role as a bass player in influential punk bands such as The Chills and The Verlaines.  She presently lives and works in the city of Dunedin, New Zealand.  

To read a recent Art Jewelry Forum interview with the artist, CLICK HERE.

Jane Dodd, 14 Bits #1. Tails and paws and teeth and… Relics of martyrs, 2014, Pendant: Lignum vitae, beef bone, ebony, boxwood, dye, sterling silver

Jane Dodd, 14 Bits #2. Tails and paws and teeth and… Relics of martyrs, 2014, Pendant: Lignum vitae, beef bone, ebony, boxwood, dye, sterling silver

Jane Dodd, A Jungle Incident, 2014, Brooch: Lignum vitae, ebony, 18k gold, ruby, sterling silver

Jane Dodd, Fuchsprellen, 2014, Brooch: Lignum vitae, beef bone, marcasite, sterling silver

Jane Dodd, Wrestling, 2014, Brooch: Mother of pearl, sterling silver, pearls, garnet

Jane Dodd, Roast, Cook fast at 200°, or slow at 140°, Ebony, beef bone, 9k gold, sterling silver, marcasite

Jane Dodd, 14 Bits, Pendant:, Wing, Ebony, sterling silver, 7 x 8 x 1.9 cm

Jane Dodd, An Eagerly Awaited Arrival, One Day Soon Fish Will Be… Lignum vitae, beef bone, marcasite, sterling silver

Jane Dodd, 14 Bits, Pendant: Tooth, Boxwood, sterling silver, 8.6 x 3.4 x 2.1 cm

Jane Dodd, 14 bits, Pendant: Tongue, bone, dye, sterling silver, 110 x 37 x 24mm

Jand Dodd, 14 Bits, Pendant: Paw, 2014, Ebony, sterling silver, 52 x 31 x 22mm

Jane Dodd, 14 Bits, Pendant: Black/White Tooth, 2014, Lignum vitae, dye, sterling silver, 8.8 x 5.8 x 2.2 cm

To download a PDF of the full press release, please CLICK HERE.

March 25 – April 26, 2015

Opening Reception: Friday, March 27, 6-8pm

Adam Thorpe’s Flowering, a 25ft installation on the gallery’s atrium wall, draws inspiration from the roadside memorial, where flowers are placed on a chain-link fence.  Working with basswood (Tilia americana), hand tools, chisels, and gouges, the artist has carved an intricate series of wilted blossoms and flowers in full bloom, each unique in its own ornate and commemorative nature.   Against the backdrop of the everyday chain-link fence, these elaborate objects become meditative manifestations of very idea of memorial.  Created using techniques beyond the confines of traditional woodcarving, the work also considers a meeting of the ornamental and sculptural, evoking a sense of intricacy and movement that is a commonly found in nature, as well as the artists hand.

Thorpe, an elected member of the UK’s Master Carver’s Association, started woodcarving at an early age in his father’s home workshop in England. He apprenticed with British Master Carver Ian Agrell, before studying drawing and modeling at the City and Guilds of London Art School. Since moving to the United States in 1992, he has worked on carving, restoration, and ornamental design for private residences and national museums, including the spectacular Salon Doré restoration project at the San Francisco Museum of the Legion of Honor.  He presently lives in Oakland, California.

Flowering, Installation View, 2015, Carved basswood (Tilia Americana), chain-link fence

Flowering, Installation View, 2015, Carved basswood, chain-link fence

Head 1 and Wilted Series 1 (detail), 2015, Carved basswood, chain-link fence, sizes vary

Wilted Series 1, 2015, Carved Basswood, Approx. 13 X 4” each

Wilted Series (detail), 2015, Carved Basswood, Approx. 13 X 4” each

Wilted Series 2 (detail), 2015, Carved basswood, chain-link fence, sizes vary

Daisy Chain (detail), 2015, Carved Basswood (Tilia Americana), Approx 3 ½ X 12” each

Daisy Chain, 20 Piece Installation View, 2015, Carved Basswood (Tilia Americana), Approx 3 ½ X 12” each

Relief Head 3, 2015, Carved Basswood, 5 X 3 X 5 ¾”

Wilted Head 1, 2015, Carved Basswood, 4 X 3” (without stand)

Black Flowers, 2015, Carved and dyed Basswood, Approx. 14 X 3” each

Bunch 1, Carved Basswood, 12 X 6” dia

Bunch 2, Carved Basswood, 10 X 5” dia

The Salon Doré from the Hôtel de La Trémoille at the Legion of Honor. Photo Credit: Henrik Kam 2014

Additional information and more images of The Salon Doré from the Hôtel de La Trémoille at the Legion of Honor can be found HERE.

To download a full PDF of the press release, CLICK HERE.