Adam Thorpe: Flowering

March 25 – April 26, 2015

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.

Watch a video of Adam Thorpe working on the Legion of Honor project here: 

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.

Jane Dodd: Rococo Revolution

January 21- February 28, 2015

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.

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

Tom Hill: Buckle

January 21 – February 28, 2015

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.  

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

 

Holidays at Velvet da Vinci

November 30 – December 31, 2014

 

Holidays at Velvet da Vinci 
The 24th Annual Holiday Celebration 

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

Caroline Gore …mercurial silence…

November 5-30, 2014

Caroline Gore …mercurial silence…

November 5-30, 2014

Artist’s Reception: Friday, November 7, 6-8 pm

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

Caroline Gore’s recent series …mercurial silence… is the culmination of an investigation of how grief and loss manifest in society.  This body of work considers comparative meanings sought through the multidisciplinary research of historical jewelry, Roman myth, photographic materials, and functional/sculptural objects as they relate to commonalities across human experience.

With an undergraduate degree in Crafts (jewelry focus) from Virginia Commonwealth University and a graduate degree in Metal Design from East Carolina University, Gore is known on a national level for her expansive and thought provoking studio practice.  Ranging from small-scale wearable pieces to multimedia sculptural installations, large scale drawings, and conceptual photographic objects, Gore’s work be found in the permanent collection of The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Racine Art Museum, and numerous private collections.  Her jewelry has been featured in group and solo exhibitions across the US, in addition to publications such as Metalsmith Magazine and the 500 series books published by Lark Books.  The artist currently lives and works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she serves as an Associate Professor of Jewelry/Metals in the Craft & Material Studies program at The University of the Arts. 

To download a full PDF Press Release for the exhibition, please CLICK HERE.

A Selection of Featured Works:

Amy Tavern:  In Between / I Live Here Now

October 18 – 31, 2014

 

October 18 – 31, 2014

Artist Talk: Saturday, October 18, 7pm

Opening Reception: Saturday, October 25, 6-8pm

In conjunction with her artist residency at the California College of the Arts, Velvet da Vinci is proud to present Amy Tavern’s recent body of work “I Live Here Now” and a site specific installation “In Between” at Velvet da Vinci.

I’ve been without a home by circumstance and by choice for several years. In 2012, I began traveling in the US and abroad for my work, rarely spending extended periods of time in any one location. This new lifestyle made me realize I don’t know where I want to live, and I find myself searching for this seemingly elusive place today. While I am content to be without a home, I long for that one place where I feel most myself, a place where I want to stay. In an effort to find what I’m looking for, I was compelled to define and redefine home through research, writing and object making, as well as examining my past, my present and my future. 

Artist Statement:

Over the past year, I have explored ideas of home in three distinctive places. Arriving in Iceland for the first time, I felt attune with myself and with my surroundings in a way I had never felt before. The pieces I made in a two-month residency there illustrate feelings of belonging and of being found. In my childhood home in New York, I reflected on my relationships with my family as well as relationships with the places I’ve lived in the United States. The foundation of my artistic sources and countless other details were revealed as I considered individual people and locations. Further, through all the places I have traveled, I have become keenly aware of my ability to find home in the unknown. In all of these places, Iceland, the US and countries abroad, I examined memories and focused on things that carry emotional weight. I also relied on the language of jewelry, looking to a variety of historical forms for guidance. 

“I Live Here Now” represents what home means to me as well as the memories and emotions associated with the different places that are a part of my collective home. Jewelry, objects, text, photographs, ritual, arrangements and installation serve to demonstrate my ideas and to establish a unique narrative. Ultimately, I know my home is the place where I am truly myself, and, essentially, I know now that I don’t need a physical location to call home; my home is me and it is wherever I am.

– Amy Tavern

Featured Images:

Garry Knox Bennett: Full Circle

October 1 – 31, 2014

Mayfly, 2014, Wood, brass, sand, beads, paint, copper-plating, bronze-plating, paint, 11”h x 8”w x 6”d.  Photo: Hap Sakwa

Garry Knox Bennett: Full Circle 
October 1 – 31, 2014
Opening Reception: Friday October 3, 6 – 8pm

American furniture maker, woodworker, and metal artist Garry Knox Bennett has been celebrated for his innovative sculptural and functional objects for over 40 years. Garry Knox Bennett: Full Circle marks the California native artist’s 80th birthday this October, highlighting a body of new works made in the spirt of the 1960’s. Inspired by his background as a jeweler and metal plater, the show will feature 50 sculptural roach clips, a popular item sold at the artist’s historic San Francisco shop Squirkenworks almost 4 decades ago. For one time only, Velvet da Vinci turns from gallery to head shop, in honor of Bennett’s important historic and contemporary contributions to the Craft field.

Bennett’s work can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Art and Design in New York, the De Young Museum in San Francisco, the Mint Museum of Arts and Design in Charlotte NC, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Oakland Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Washington DC’s Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery. A graduate of the California College of Arts And Crafts, Bennett was featured in a solo retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Art and Design in New York City in 2001 and has been the recipient of numerous awards such as the Smithsonian Museum’s Renwick Alliance Award (2011), the Furniture Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2004), the American Craft Council College of Fellows (1996), and the Merit Grant National Endowment for the Arts (1984). The artist has lived and works in Oakland, CA for nearly 40 years.

To download a full PDF Press Release for the exhibition, please CLICK HERE.

A Selection of Featured Works:

Joanna Gollberg: Collected: An Exploration of Travel Through Jewelry
September 3 – 28, 2014

Joanna Gollberg’s most recent body of work considers the experiences of travel, observation, and enlightenment through the form of jewelry.  Inspired by her own personal collection of coral, shells, and other keepsakes gathered while traveling the world, the exhibition will feature an exciting new series created from precious and semi precious materials, as well as found objects.  Found in Mexico, Western North Carolina, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam, these tokens serve as a physical reminder of the place from which they came, their histories, and the artist’s connection to each experience.  The exhibition will also include a selection of documentary photographs, taken by the artist on each trip.

On this pivotal new body of work, Gollberg writes:  

“I had never before given myself permission to use (these elements) in my jewelry, because they were physical objects that kept me connected to places that made my whole heart feel crushingly full…  I chose to use techniques that I rarely employ in my day to day jewelry making life—mold making, wax carving, casting, enameling which gave me deep pleasure. I freely used gemstones and materials that suited each piece,disregarding any pre-planned price structure… The results are twofold: I am spiritually refreshed and ready to re-enter my work life anew, and I have created a body of work that is personally meaningful, yet still beautiful and true to my aesthetic.”

With a Jewelry Design degree from FIT in New York City, Gollberg has been creating and exhibiting unique wearable objects since 1997.  A well-known and respected author, she has written four books on handcrafted jewelry: Making Metal Jewelry, Creative Metal Crafts, The Art & Craft of Making Jewelry, and The Ultimate Jeweler’s Guide.  Her work has been included in gallery and museum exhibitions across the US and has been featured in international publications such as Art Jewelry Magazine, Lapidary Journal, Ornament Magazine, 1000 Rings, 500 Wedding Rings, 500 Enameled Objects, and 21st Century Jewelry.   Currently based out of Asheville, North Carolina, the artist also teaches at noted craft institutions such as the Penland School of Crafts and Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts.

CLICK HERE to download a full press release for the exhibition.

Highlighted Works:

Delirio y Cordura (Delirium and Sanity): July 9 – August 10, 2014

Delirio y Cordura (Delirium and Sanity): Chilean Contemporary Jewelry

July 9 – August 10, 2014

An exhibition catalog is available.

Carolina Gimeno, Yessica Bordón, Rocco Napoli, María Eugenia Muñoz, Verónica Pérez Artigas, Claudio Pino, Rafaela Pruzzo, Nano Pulgar, and Paola Raggo will be present at the Opening Reception.

Special Saturday morning lectures by Carolina Gimeno, Nano Pulgar and Paola Raggo speak about Contemporary Jewelry in Chile.  July 12, 11am 12 noon.  Refreshments will be served.  Don’t miss this special event!

In the ten years since Joyas Jóias, Velvet da Vinci’s first exhibition of Latin American jewelry, there has been a growing awareness and appreciation for the achievements of contemporary jewelers in Mexico, Argentina, Peru and Brazil. For our exhibition, Delirio y Cordura (Delirium and Sanity) we concentrate on contemporary Chilean jewelry artists. Each jeweler was inspired by the themes of delirium and sanity, choosing one or both concepts. The idea of harmony and balance versus  insanity and irrationality influence the creation of each work through an exploration of shape, color, material, and concept.  Chaos, out of order.

Participating Artists:

Carolina Gimeno, Carolina Hornaüer, Claudia Correa, Claudio Pino, Francisco Ceppi, Gabriela Fissore, María Eugenia Muñoz, María Ignacia Walker, Nicolás Hernandez, Paola Raggo, Pía Walker, Rafaella Pruzzo, Rocco Napoli, Valentina Rosenthal, Verónica Pérez Artigas, Walka, Yessica Bordon

Preview of Highlighted Works:

Walka, T-Oro Sagrado Bull horn, gold plating brass, steel 6 x 6 x 4.5 cm

Carolina Gimeno, Encounter IV, Brooch Birch, sterling silver 13 x 11 x 5 cm

Nicolas Hernandez, Este colgante no te traerá suerte, Pendant: oxidizad copper, silver 999, fire enamel, 9 x 8 x 0.5 cm

María Eugenia Muñoz, Ring: Delirium Tremensdoscópicos, Sterling silver, copper, acrylic, mirror, Swarovski crystal, 4.5 x 2.5 x 3 cm

María Ignacia Walker, Rings: Corales de Madera, Wood

Valentina Rosenthal, Brooch: De Lirios session 3, Enamel, polyurethane, silver, 12 x 6 cm

Carolina Hornaüer, Brooch: Ismos #1 Rigid polystyrene foam, japanese lacquer, silver, enameled stoneware ceramic 7 x 6 x 7 cm

Gabriela Fissore, Cor, Silver, copper, japanese lacquer, 19cm

Paola Raggo, Necklace: Caos al viento, Sterling silver, stainless steel, resin, impression, 6.7 x 4 x 4 cm, chain length: 37 cm

Pía Walker, Pendant: Rotamiento, Steel, copper, acrylic, aluminium

Claudio Pino Ring: Tactus Sterling silver, brass, copper, moonstone, pink tourmaline

Rafaella Pruzzo, Necklace: Molindore, Oxidized silver, book pages, 21 x 18 x 5 cm

Claudia Correa, Necklace: Rochard 1, Sterling silver, copper, brass, patina, 20 x 12 cm

​Francisco Ceppi, Hands Up This is a Jewelry, Sterling silver, resin, plastic, 6 x 3.5 cm

Verónica Pérez Artigas, Brooch: silver 970, gold 18, pearl, 3.5 x 2.2 cm

Yessica Bordon, La Templanza, oxidized silver with murano glass drops

The exhibition is curated by Paola Raggo, Claudia Correa, and María Eugenia Muñoz Curbelo. A special thank you to Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes, (National Council for Culture and the Arts), Chile.  Additional support from Delirios Contemporaneos and The Canada Council for the Arts.

Additional Credits:

Project Coordinator – Director / María Eugenia Muñoz Curbelo

Guest Collaborator – Project Coordinator/ Claudio Pino

Producer – Designer / Verónica Pérez Artigas

Assistant / Rafaella Pruzzo

Photographer / Karen Clunes

To download the full press release for the exhibition, please click here: PRESS RELEASE

The Earring Show 2:  May 21 – June 29, 2014

Velvet da Vinci celebrates the publication of New Earrings by Nicolas Estrada.

May 21 – June 29, 2014

Artists’ Reception: Friday, May 23, 6-8pm

 

Participating Artists:  

Anne Bader / Germany, Rike Bartels / Germany, Ela Bauer / Netherlands, Catalina Brenes / Costa Rica, Angela Bubash / US, Liesbet Bussche / Netherlands, Petra Class / US, Andy Cooperman / US, Pilar Cotter / Spain, Nikki Couppee / US, Babette von Dohnanyi / Germany, Lluis Duran / Spain, Nicolas Estrada / Spain, Mirla Fernandes / Brazil, Hella Ganor / Israel, Julia Harrison / US, Liisa Hashimoto / Japan, Joanne Haywood / UK, Peter Hoogeboom / Netherlands, Iris Saar Issacs / Australia, Beate Klockmann / Netherlands, Daphne Krinos / UK, Felieke van der Leest / Norway, Judy McCaig / Spain, Martin Papcùn / Czech Republic, Katja Prins / Netherlands, Vina Rust / US, Biba Schutz / US, Karin Seufert / Germany, Jan Smith / Canada, Antje Stolz / Germany, Rudee Tancharoen / Thailand, Amy Tavern / US, Emily Watson / US, Sayumi Yokouchi / US

Exhibition organized by Galerie Noel Guyomarc’h, Montreal, and Velvet da Vinci.

Highlighted Works:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kay + June: April 1 – 30, 2014

In celebration of the SFO Museum’s exhibition “Turn, Weave, Fire, and Fold: Vessels from the Forrest L. Merrill Collection,” Velvet Da Vinci is proud to exhibit an important collection of works by two California masters, fiber artist Kay Sekimachi and enamelist June Schwarcz.  The show will run from April 1st through the 30th, 2014.  To view a full PDF of the press release, please click the link below:

VelvetDaVinci_PRESSRELEASE_JuneSchwarz.KaySekimachi_2014

Featured Works:

Gene Pijanowski, 30 Years of Jewelry and Objects: February 5 – March 9, 2014

Velvet Da Vinci is proud to present Gene Pijanowski: 30 Years of Jewelry and Objects.  The historic exhibition will feature over 40 important works by the world  renowned artist from the late 1970‘s through the mid 2000’s, marking the largest gallery exhibition of Pijanowski’s work in over two decades.

The show will run from February 5th through March 9th, 2014. An Opening Reception will take place on Friday February 7th, from 6 to 8 pm.

Eugene (Gene) Pijanowski’s work can be seen as a marriage of eastern and western tradition and style, representing an integration of modernist aesthetics and ancient sensibilities.  Drawing from traditional Japanese concepts, techniques, and materials, the artist investigates the relationships between process and craft, content and form, and meaning and function. Works by Pijanowski can be found in private and museum collections worldwide; highlights include the Metropolitan Musuem of Art, NYC, the Museum of Arts and Design, NYC, the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery, Washington D.C., the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan, and many more.  To view a full PDF of the press release, please click here:  VelvetdaVinci_Pijanowski_PressRelease_FIN

Preview of Featured Works:

On the Atrium Wall…

Velvet Da Vinci is proud to host the US debut of Aeon Profit / Piano Forte, an installation of wearable objects made from reincarnated piano parts by the Swedish jewelry design collective A5.

The show, which has previously exhibited in both Stockholm and Munich, will run from February 5th through March 9th, 2014.  An Opening Reception will take place on Friday February 7th, from 6 to 8 pm.

Musical instruments and jewelry share several fundamental similarities: a rich tradition of craftsmanship, function, ornamentation, and inherent value. Both are meant to last generations and to be passed from individual to individual. Thus when an instrument or a piece of jewelry is no longer wanted or needed it falls into a particular space of limbo, the owner wishes to part with the item yet at the same time hopes that it will continue its existence. It is in this way that the group A5, Adam Grinovich, Romina Fuentes, and Annika Pettersson, came into contact with a piano.  To view a full PDF of the press release, please click here: VelvetDaVinci_PRESSRELEASE_PianoForte2014