Opened in 1991, Velvet da Vinci (our name inspired by an old Perry Mason television episode) is a gallery of contemporary craft specializing in art jewelry and metalwork. Representing artists from the US, Europe, Latin America and Japan, the quality and range of work shown at Velvet da Vinci gallery has made it a regular must-see stop for collectors, museum curators, and other knowledgeable art and art-jewelry enthusiasts.

Velvet da Vinci organizes 10-12 exhibitions a year including one and two-person shows and important group exhibitions of work from around the world. Our CHESS exhibition of game pieces by international artists toured in the UK and the US from 2003 through 2005. An exhibition catalog is available.

Other exhibitions of special interest include:

Anti-War Medals: Artists Respond to the War.

The Work of Marie Zimmermann (1878-1972). Work from this pioneering New York artist. An exhibition catalog is available.

Fifty Years in the Making: The Bay Area Metal Arts Guild, 1951-2001. This giant exhibition featured work by pioneers in our field with pieces from private and public collections.

100% Proof: A distillation of new work in jewellery and silversmithing from Scotland. Organized with flow gallery in London this show toured the US and the UK. An exhibition catalog is available.

Tiaras Will Be Worn, this delightful exhibition toured the US and pieces went on to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

For a complete listing of our exhibitions please click SHOWS on our menu above.

Velvet da Vinci sponsored the 2003 Society of North American Goldsmiths conference in San Francisco with the largest attendance ever for a SNAG conference, 800 people from all over the world. Special events during the conference included our Ceremonial Metalwork Tour of SF and not to be missed is the Exhibition in Motion, a wild presentation that was a highlight of the conference.

How to use this site:

Historical images of work by individual artists can be seen by clicking artists on our menu. All the images for an artist can be viewed by clicking the "More images" link (if any) at the bottom of each artist's page. The web site currently contains images and new images are added frequently, usually in the shows section. Please come back from time to time to see what's new.

You can also subscribe to our exhibition announcement service to receive notices of our shows and events, via email.

Mike Holmes and Elizabeth Shypertt