Myung Urso: Trans-Form

April 5 – May 7, 2017

Opening Reception: Friday, April 7, 6-8pm 

Thread, ink, wood, paper. Humble raw materials are venerated for their textural, structural, and visual qualities. Stitched, sculpted, stretched to join seemingly incongruous elements into inseparable jewelry forms. Myung Urso has an uncanny ability not only to interpret everyday materials in entirely fresh ways, but to elevate them in her work to stature typically reserved for precious stones and metals. Even when Urso uses sterling silver, freshwater pearls, or other more traditional jewelry matter, she gives cotton, wood, and, most recently, paper pulp, centerstage. And, in their leading roles, under Urso’s direction, these objects are radiant and mesmerizing. At the heart of Urso’s work are the exploration and transformation of commonplace materials into art objects that are ambiguous, enigmatic, and beguiling.

Myung Urso is a sculptor working in jewelry, a textile artist by training, and a keen observer of the natural world’s permutations. Seasons of the year, growth cycles, the elements of water, fire, and earth, are recurrent themes in her bodies of work. Urso revels in soft, expressive organic shapes yet her approach is quite exacting and laconic. Consequently, her necklaces, brooches, and earrings can exhibit both, a minimalist architectural austerity, and an exuberance of form and surface.

Myung Urso has used jewelry as a medium of artistic expression for the past ten years. A decade is also how long she has lived in the United States. Her work reflects the abundant cultural and artistic influences of her former life in South Korea, as well as the challenges and rewards of navigating the American cultural landscape.

For years, Hanji paper was a material Urso utilized frequently in her work. More recently, she has turned to another paper product — recycled paper egg cartons and recycled paper fruit/vegetable baskets. First spotted by Urso in farmer’s market stalls in her current hometown of Rochester, NY, these humble objects, weathered by sunlight, use, and reuse, have come to symbolize, for her, the cycle of consumption and the grower-consumer relationship, Urso says. The recycled paper pulp containers carry the product of the farmers’ labor as well as nourishment for those who consume the fruit. In Urso’s hands, pieces of these containers are transformed again, their surfaces treated with marble dust or other substances, set in sterling silver, and recreated as jewelry pieces, to be worn and translated yet again.

Whether using calligraphy in novel ways, as Urso did in her early collections, or stitching through found wood debris, as she did later, or treating common paper pulp as precious commodity, Urso’s approach makes her metamorphic jewelry exhilarating.

– Elena Rosenberg, Independent Curator 

Site, Brooch, Recycled Paper Pulp Basket, Sand, Acrylic Paint, Sterling Silver, 2017

Window, Brooch, Recycled Paper Egg Carton, Sand, Acrylic Paint, Sterling Silver, 2016

Oneness, Necklace, Wood, Cotton Thread, Acrylic Paint, 2015

Poem, Neckpiece, Cotton, Asian Ink, Thread, Sterling Silver, Lacquer, 2007

Oak Tree, Brooch, Recycled Paper Pulp Basket, Wood Dust, Acrylic Paint, Sterling Silver, 2017

Aquarius, Brooch, Recycled Paper Egg Carton, Sand, Marble Dust, Asian Ink, Sterling Silver, 2017

Torso, Brooch, Sterling Silver, Fabric, Thread, Asian Ink, Loofah, 2009

Aquarius, Necklace, Recycled Paper Pulp Basket, Sand, Acrylic Paint, Pigment, Sterling Silver, 2017

Sign of Life, Necklace, Silk, Thread, Sterling Silver, Lacquer, 2012

Brood, Brooch, Recycled Paper Pulp Egg Carton, Sand, Pigment, Acrylic Paint, Sterling Silver, 2017

Golden Crest, Neckpiece, Cotton, Silk, Thread, Sterling Silver, Lacquer, 2010

Ancient, Brooch, Recycled Paper Pulp Egg Carton, Marble Dust, Hair, Sterling Silver, 2017

Modesty, Neckpiece, Silk, Thread, Sterling Silver, Lacquer, 2008

Infinity, Neckpiece, Antique Korean Book, Hanji, 23K Gold Leaf, Sterling Silver, Lacquer, 2011

Presence, Brooch, Recycled Paper Egg Carton, Sand, Marble Dust, Asian Ink, Sterling Silver, 2017

Site, Brooch, Recycled Paper Pulp Basket, Sand, Acrylic Paint, Sterling Silver, 2016

Scene, Brooch, Recycled Paper Pulp Basket, Sand, Asian ink, Sterling Silver, 2017

Flora, Brooch, Sterling Silver, Sand, Acrylic Paint, 2016

Shrine, Necklace, Recycled Paper Pulp Basket, Sand, Pigment, Acrylic Paint, Silk Cord, 2017

Blue Combination, Necklace, Silk, Silicone Bands, Hanji, Asian Ink, Thread, Sterling Silver, Lacquer, 2014

Site, Brooch, Recycled Paper Egg Carton, Sand, Marble Dust, Asian Ink, Hair, Sterling Silver, 2017

Site, Brooch, Recycled Paper Pulp Basket, Sand, Pigment, Sterling Silver, Lacquer, 2016

In the Cloud, Brooch, Silk Organza, Thread, Found Object, Sterling Silver, Lacquer, 2013

Aquarius, Brooch, Recycled Paper Pulp Basket, Sand, Asian Ink, Acrylic Paint, Sterling Silver, 2017

Rampart, Brooch, Recycled Paper Pulp Basket, Sand, Acrylic Paint, Asian Ink, Sterling Silver, 2017

Suzanne Pugh: Post Pastoralia 

February 24-March 12, 2017

Artist’s Reception: Friday, February 24, 6-8 pm

Artist Statement:

What do we lose when we lose language? If we lose our ability to communicate – in speaking, in writing, with language – how would we share our knowledge? What does the word ‘language’ encompass?

On a recent trip to Iceland, I found that almost everyone spoke impeccable English. There was no expectation that I would attempt to speak Icelandic and have to struggle with words, limiting my ability to ask even a simple question. In central cities all over the world, English is becoming a common language, for natives and visitors alike. What happens to a culture and a history when language dissolves?

Now, can we extend the word ‘language’ to encompass skill? The knowledge of our hands is similar to a language, passed down through necessity, experience, and exchange. I want you to see, as I do, the lateral relationship between language and skill, the parallel consequences of losing language and losing skill.

My pieces are form and material, but they are silent. The work is about forgotten language. It is about knowledge lost and found again, too late.

For more reading about the relationship between language and culture, this is a good place to start:

“Language and Culture” by Dr. Tengku Sepora Tengku Mahadi, and Sepideh Moghaddas Jafari, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 2 No. 17, September 2012

About the Artist:

Suzanne Pugh uses traditional metalsmithing techniques to explore personal and social narratives. She maintains an active studio practice in Oakland, California, and is associate professor and head of the metal arts program at City College of San Francisco. She exhibits nationally and internationally, and her work is included in many publications. Suzanne received her BFA from The University of Georgia, and an MFA from Kansas State University.

Deadly Forearms, detail, 2016, copper

Installation view

Bounty, 2016, copper, rope

Bounty, detail, 2016, copper, rope

Bushel, 2016, steel

Bushel, 2016, steel

It’s Too Far to Tell, 2016, copper

That’s Just an Estimate, 2016, rope, wood

Deadly Forearms, detail, 2016, copper

It’s Too Far to Tell, 2016, copper

Pierce Healy: Contemporary Jewellery Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? The Musical!

February 24-March 26, 2017

Artist’s Reception: Friday, February 24, 6-8 pm

Artist Statement

Adornment and jewellery hail from pre-civilisation, as does humour. Hence the pairing of humour with the most intimate applied art form of jewellery is an obvious match. These days Pierce Healy can be found solving his world’s problems creating subversive objects and jewellery often layered with intricate engravings. He refers to himself as a human Swiss army knife; not in an Edward Scissorshands way but in the way he toils in an array of materials and disciplines in addition to the numerous skills he has acquired throughout his life so far.

Within his practice there is no “master plan” each piece is an experiment a study that informs the next piece. He is fascinated by the capacity of jewellery to develop into our most personal of vessels for our story’s and storytelling in addition he is interested in the idea that jewellery is our second skin and when worn becomes something bigger, something other worldly as it takes on the scratches, dings and stories of the wearers adventures. Healy combines his craze for the everyday, drawing, storytelling, mark making and hand engraving to create truly hand-made raw jewellery.

Healy is particularly interested in and the space between the artist and the non-artist and the role of humour in jewellery and how the harnessing of humour in his work can be use as stealth communication device in particular to invite everybody into the conversation.

rings, hand engraved oxidized sterling silver, 2017

do you realize how beautiful you are?, pendant, hand engraved oxidized sterling silver, leather, 2017

rings and bracelet, hand engraved oxidized sterling silver, 2017

the Stone Age contemporary jeweller asks his father and mother;
are you dying for me to wear you?, pendant, hand engraved oxidized sterling silver, leather, 2017

when a contemporary jeweller falls in a forest, who cares!, pendant, hand engraved oxidized sterling silver, leather

talismamulets (#1-5), pendants, hand engraved oxidized sterling silver, leather, 2017

stable meal, hand engraved pewter and modified found metal and wood objects, 2017

volcanic love #1-2, spinning rings, hand engraved oxidized sterling silver, 2017

crustacean’s #4, earrings, hand engraved oxidized sterling silver, 2017

collection of earrings, pendants, and rings, hand engraved oxidized sterling silver, leather, found objects, 2017

Shared Concerns:  Melissa Cameron, Aran Galligan, Dan DiCaprio, Kaori Juzu, Jill Hermans, Caitie Sellers, Lynn Batchelder, and Vincent Pontillo-Verrastro

July 1-31, 2016

Artists’ Reception: Friday, July 1, 6-8pm

An exhibition documenting the meeting of eight international artists, brought together to work in the Penland studios in the mountains of North Carolina.  As a group, the artists were asked to share a word that encapsulated the main concern of their practice. Words were then swapped at random so that each person received a different word, and used it as a part of the inspiration for their new work, by interpreting the ‘concern’ of another group member.

The pieces begun during their Winter Residency at Penland and were finished in studios across the United States as well as in Australia and Denmark, where this diverse group of jewelry artists call home. Shared Concerns is curated by Melissa Cameron and Aran Galligan.

Vincent Pontillo-Verrastro, Tunne Brooch (Analogous/Control), 2016, PLA, decal, rare earth magnets, 2.5 x 2 x 2 in.

Caitie Sellers, Renovation # 2 Bracelet (Sprawl/Time), 2016, Argentium silver, copper mesh,       4.5 x 3 x 1.75 in.

Kaori Juzu, In Between #5 Brooch (Inspiration/Sexual), 2016, Steel, silk, plastic, magnet,               5 x 4 x .75 in.

Lynn Batchelder, Stack Necklace (Control/Analogous), 2016, Steel, 2.5 x 2.5 x .25 in.

Melissa Cameron, Mirror Brooch (Body/Politic), 2016, Serving dish (chrome plated mild steel), titanium, stainless steel, 9.5 x 10 x 1 in.

Jill Hermans, Sprawl #3 Brooch (Fuse/Sprawl), 2016, Shibuichi, 5 x 5 x .75 in.

Aran Galligan, Connected #2 Brooch, (Time/Connection), 2016, Sterling silver, copper, steel,        3 x 5/8 x 1 1/4 in.

Daniel DiCaprio, Barm Brooch (Sexual/Inspiration), 2016, Ebony, 22k, 14k, 3 x 1.75 x 1.25 in.

Shared Concerns artists Clockwise from back: Dan DiCaprio, Lynn Batchelder,                               Caitie Sellers, Melissa Cameron, Aran Galligan, Vincent Pontillo-Verrastro, Kaori Juzu, and         Jill Hermans

Holidays at Velvet da Vinci
The 26th Annual Holiday Celebration December 1-31

Holiday Reception Sunday December 4, 11-5

Special Holiday gifts by gallery artists.

Holiday Hours: Monday-Saturday 11-6, Sunday 11-5

415-441-0109

Brooch detail, Nikki Couppee

Joanna Gollberg

Kat Cole

April Higashi

David Huang

Kath Inglis

Susanne Matsche

Mike & Maaike

Jo Pond

Florian Ladstaetter

Mark Hartung

Niki Ulehla

Brooke Marks-Swanson

Junko Mori

Timothy Carson

Garry Knox Bennett

Two Days Only!

Saturday November 19, 11-6 and Sunday November 20, 11-4

Opening Reception Saturday November 19, 6-8pm

Gateway Drugs Pop-Up Jewelry Event highlights jewelry from 25 international artists and creates a multi-faceted opportunity to introduce a new selection of artist-made, contemporary jewelry. Organized by Mariah Tuttle.

Participating artists: Farrah Al-Dujaili (United Kingdom), Lynn Batchelder (USA), LizClark (USA), Nikki Couppee (USA), Anna Davern (Australia), Linnea Erikson (Sweden), Kiko Gianocca (Switzerland), Adam Grinovich (Sweden/USA), Nils Hint (Estonia), Christine Jalio (Finland), Sooyeon Kim (Korea), Yong Joo Kim (Korea), Panjapol Kulpapangkorn (Thailand), Zachery Lechtenberg (USA), Heng Lee (Taiwan), Helmi Lindblom (Finland), Helena Johansson Lindell (Sweden), Tara Locklear (USA), Seth Papac (USA), Carina Shoshtary (Germany), Demitra Thomloudis (USA), Lauren Tickle (USA), Nelly Van Oost (France/Belgium), Sarah West (USA), and Mallory Weston (USA).

November 4 – November 20, 2016

Artist’s Reception Friday, November 4, 2016, 6-8pm

Material foraged out of the Hudson River and Rondout Creek are shifted in form and used to explore the post-industrial landscape, regional histories, visibility and camouflage, the human impulse to adorn, and cultural substitutions/additions/deletions.

The brickworks that once occupied the shores of the Hudson River and its tributaries used the banks to discard failed fired bricks. These failures are the containers of the hope, pride, greed, labor, sweat, and process of a rich industrial culture. The now exhausted clay deposit, dug from these same banks, returns; a prodigal son, formed, hardened, humbled, repentant. Transformed from their natural state by fire but unusable as building materials, they exist as erratics, each possessing a characteristic naming it as aberration, odd, unsuitable. Slowly they transform again, this time by the tidewaters, breaking down not into what they were, but into something new. Added to the river ecosystem as discards they become a decorative surface–both coarse and fine. As remains of an exhausted resource and defunct process they become a finite material. As a material found in but not belonging to the landscape they become a way to examine place, history, and the ways we carry both with us. The fruits of the river–oysters, shad, sturgeon–replaced by brickworks, cement, mineral mines, and stone quarries. As European immigrants settled the land and displaced the native Algonquin speaking tribes, culture and its produce also shifted from hunter to farmer to industry. From shell, bone, and skin to pearl, metal, and silk.

The hand-cut and carved bricks are combined with pearls, shell, silk, silver and gold. Using stringing and pearl knotting techniques, the work plays between the adornment ideals of the Dutch Golden Age and the ceremonial adornment of the native Lenape Tribes of the Hudson River Valley. The resulting objects are hybrid artifacts that articulate a proposed series of cultural substitutions/additions/deletions.

Process info:

The work consists of both practical and theoretical jewelry objects, made from discarded bricks from the brickworks of the Hudson River Valley. All the bricks were hand cut and carved. Some were tumbled to appear as they would if they were washed for years in the waves of the river. Some were strung using traditional pearl knotting techniques on silk, while others required that the stringing material be steel cable in order to support the weight of the brick material. Aluminum crimps were used to connect the steel cable or in place of ‘knots’ to suspend the brick segments along the cable. Polyolefin shrink tube was used as a coating to protect the bricks from wear and the wearer from the rough surface of the steel cable.

About the Artist:

Kerianne Quick is Assistant Professor of Jewelry and Metalwork at San Diego State University. Her scholarly research mixes traditional and digitally driven making processes with material focused historical and ethnographic inquiries to consider how objects can be embedded with meaning.

Kerianne has produced several bodies of material specific work considering subject matters that range from communal sheep farming practices in the Orkney Isles to the derelict brickyards of New York’s Hudson Valley. She is currently researching contemporary forms of portable wealth among migrants seeking asylum/refugee status. With her creative practice, Kerianne aims to tell hidden stories through object making – by considering source, geography, and material specificity. Her research is rooted in exploring craft and materiality as cultural phenomena with an emphasis on jewelry and personal adornment.

Transmutations 15, 2016, foraged brick, inherited pearls, silk, sterling silver

Ballast Installation

Transmutations 4, 2016, foraged brick, inherited glass beads, silk, sterling silver, stainless steel

Transmutations 8, 2016, foraged brick, inherited pearls, silk, gold clasp from an inherited necklace

Transmutations 20, 2016, foraged brick, inherited pearls, sterling silver, nickel silver, stainless steel

Transmutations 14, 2016, foraged brick, inherited pearls, silk, sterling silver

Transmutations 10, 2016, foraged brick, inherited pearls, silk, sterling silver, nickel silver

Ballast Installation

Ballast Installation

Transmutations 6, 2016, foraged brick, inherited pearls, silk, sterling silver

Transmutations 5, 2016, foraged brick, inherited pearls, silk, sterling silver, stainless steel

Transmutations 18, 2016, foraged brick, inherited pearls, silk, sterling silver

Transmutations 17, 2016, foraged brick, inherited pearls, silk, sterling silver

Ballast Installation

Transmutations 19, 2016, foraged brick, inherited pearls, silk, sterling silver, nickel silver