COUP de COEUR ! Jennifer TRASK

avec Jennifer TRASK  j’ai eu l’impression d’entrer dans le domaine des elfes et des trolls, sur fond de musique de Björk ……..

Represented at SOFA NEW YORK by Ornamentum, Hudson, NY
Jennifer TRASK has an M.F.A. in metalsmithing from the State University of New York at New Paltz. Inspired by man’s effect on nature, Trask uses salvageable materials like pre-ban ivory, antlers, gold and palladium to create fantastical botanical arrangements. Trask says her “recycled materials address the uncomfortable distance we have created from nature itself. The references are specific, biological and metaphoric…Beauty is great, but I’m more interested in getting people to look at the unusual.” Jennifer Trask will also be a speaker in the SOFA NEW YORK 2011 Lecture Series.

Jennifer Trask’s  Calciflora (Agavacea) brooch ‘Corona’ – 18K gold, palladium gold, bone, teeth (deer), sapphires, rainbow moonstones -
‘Unnatural Histories’ series, Flourish (2008), begins with the following definitions of the word flourish:
1. To grow well or luxuriantly; thrive
2. To do or fare well; prosper
3. To be in a period of highest productivity; excellence or influence.
4. To make bold or sweeping movements

Jennifer Trask – Olana Brooch – Found ivory, rose & yellow gold, rose cut diamonds (« Unnatural Histories », 2007)

Jennifer TRASK – « Germinate » neckpiece created out of an assortment of found materials (often in the woods behind her home in upstate New York) : deer antlers, cow and ox bones, pigeon skull, teeth from a nutria (beaver-like animal), pre-ban ivory, plastic, steel, brass and five tiny hidden diamonds – at SOFA N.Y. 2010 (Ornamentum Gallery)

 

« What inspired you to make this piece?
I’ve been working on it along with the large wall installation (below) for the Dead or Alive exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD Museum, 2010). Naturally, the work has been mingling and some of these are fragments from the larger piece. The ornament and growth are directional, circular if you look carefully at the neckpiece. The recycled materials also address the uncomfortable distance we have created from nature itself. The references are specific, biological and metaphoric.
Why bone?
I wanted to work with something elemental and bone serves three purposes: the concept, it relates on a visceral level to the body, and is easily sourced as remnants from hunting, or as found material.
How long did it take you to make?
It’s hard to say how long a single piece takes since I work on several projects at once and there is an organic evolution to the process. I gather materials and arrange them, and then rearrange endlessly, sometimes, until there is a natural flow to the design. When you start looking at growth patterns there are curious overlaps—nerve cells and capillaries to the way plants branch and vines twist, and so on.  » (interview on Wmagazine, « Treasure Hunt »)

Jennifer TRASK – Acanthus Neckpiece – antler, 17th century gilded frame, gold leaf, gold- 16 x 12 x 3″ – 2010

Jennifer TRASK – Acanthus Neckpiece (Photo by Dmitri Belyl)

Jennifer TRASK - ‘Allegory’ Neckpiece (& detail)- Found & altered bone fragments, including antlers, deer jaw, jewelry, pre-ban ivory fragments, silver, 18K gold -2009 (« Embodiment series », 2009)

Jennifer TRASK - ‘Allegory’ Neckpiece (detail)

Jennifer TRASK - ‘Queen Anne’s Lace’ Brooch – Bone, sewing needles, silver rubies, resin- 2010

Jennifer TRASK - ‘Cluster’ Brooch – Found and altered bone fragments, teeth, found jewelry, silver, diamond – 2010