Sculptors’ Jewellery is an exhibition that celebrates works of art on a miniature scale created by those that are more used to working in the monumental. This is a selling exhibition that includes over 70 pieces of stunning jewellery by established and emerging sculptors including eight Royal Academicians.
Illustrating the long history of this still somewhat unknown genre, Sculptors’ Jewellery will include works from well-known 20th Century artists; from Picasso and Alexander Calder to Lynn Chadwick and Geoffrey Clarke, as well as commissioning over 30 new works from leading contemporary figures such as David Bailey and Damien Hirst.
The genre of artists’ jewellery has a long precedent; from as early as the 16th Century Hans Holbein the Younger most notable for his portraits of the Tudor Court also designed jewellery and metalwork, pieces that were intended to be worn and not just displayed as artwork. However, it was not until the early 20th Century that the creative output in regards to artists’ jewellery really began to increase across Europe and America, with artists such as Georges Braque, Max Ernst, Lucio Fontana and Louise Nevelson working in the genre.
A seminal turning point in the genre was the 1961 International Exhibition of Modern Jewellery 1890-1961 at Goldsmith’s Hall, under the guidance of the V&A. Artists such as Henry Moore, Bernard Meadows and Kenneth Armitage were sent pieces of wax with which to sculpt items of jewellery. An unprecedented success the exhibition attracted 26,000 visitors.
Sculptors’ Jewellery has been conceived in that vein; an exhibition that has provided sculptors with the opportunity to experiment with scale and be challenged by the idea of wearable sculpture. The exhibition offers a unique opportunity to view all that the term ‘sculptors’ jewellery’ encompasses; the historical alongside the newly commissioned; the Man Ray alongside the Michael Craig Martin.
A fully illustrated catalogue will be published to coincide with the exhibition and the young architectural design team Assemble have produced an exciting and innovative installation for the exhibition.
Pangolin London is affiliated with Europe’s leading sculpture foundry, Pangolin Editions, which places the gallery at the forefront of sensitive and cutting-edge sculpture display. Pangolin London therefore maintains a close relationship with artists, offering an unprecedented level of support throughout the development, production and display of their work.
Image: Damien Hirst brooch