EXPO ‘Evert Nijland: Ornament’ – KunstRAI / Galerie Rob Koudijs, Amsterdam (NL) – 4 Juin-7 Juil. 2012

Evert Nijland: Ornament

OPENING AND PREVIEW AT KUNSTRAI ARTFAIR WEDNESDAY THE 30st OF MAY.
After the artfair on show in the gallery Rob Koudijs to the 30th of June.

« At the end of the fifteenth century the Domus Aurea – Golden House – was excavated in Rome. Once it had been the huge palace of emperor Nero. It turned out that its walls were fully decorated with painted ornaments. Their playfulness was a revelation to the artists of the budding Renaissance: they had only been familiar with the austerity of the Roman architectural and sculptural remains. The discovery revived this decorative approach from antiquity and for many centuries ornaments flourished on every surface imaginable. Until around 1900 when the Austrian architect Loos and other modernists banned all this sort of embellishment.
In the traditional ornament the playful application of abstracted plants and flowers, imaginary creatures and all sorts of symbols is contrasted with the ordering structure of symmetry and a surrounding framework. In this respect it is interesting that ornament comes from two Latin words: ornare-to decorate, and ordinare-to organize.

Evert Nijland’s jewellery is derived from the richness of Europe’s cultural history. Over the past fifteen years his pieces referred to drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci, paintings by Lucas Cranach and the art of the eighteenth century. After making necklaces for many years, Nijland has now returned to the brooch. Because it is a relatively autonomous object it was a good starting point for investigating the possibilities of the ornament. It was a process of challenging opposites: exploring freedom within a formal over-all contour, and acknowledging the ‘public’ front of a brooch and its usually invisible backside. There are also opposites in his choice of materials and their processing. An archaic material like weathered wood was combined with elements made by a master glassblower; he used basic techniques like rivetting or binding, next to laser cutting and industrial etching.

Ornaments are always, even in their absence, the key to a specific style period. Many years the pleasures of decorating were almost absent from the public realm, despite the fact that for ages man had enjoyed their whimsical enchantment and fashionable appeal. Within the boundaries he had set himself, Evert Nijland used the freedom of ornaments to celebrate his personal imagery. The resulting new pieces of jewellery will once again be a reflection of their own time, which seems to offer unlimited possibilities and at the same time presents unavoidable restrictions.«   Ward Schrijver  (© Galerie Rob Koudijs)

 Evert Nijland  Necklace: Purple, 2012  Leather, glass

 Evert Nijland  Brooch: Chains 2012  Wood, glass, silver

Evert Nijland  Brooch: Ribbons 2012  Wood, glass, silver

 

 

 

 

KunstRAI
Elandsgracht 12
1016 TV – Amsterdam
Netherlands
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

website: www.galerierobkoudijs.nl
mail: [e-mail]

EXPO ‘Nora Rochel: One Piece’ – Space Duru, Seoul (Korea) – 29 Mai-11 Juin 2012

Nora Rochel’s newest body of work is a hommage to the age old technique of lost wax casting, giving new meaning to the term One Piece. Taking the saying literally, her new creations are all cast in one piece, thanks to the unique technique of connecting all pieces using tiny sprues which allow the liquid metal to flow through the cast, eliminating the need to join the metal pieces. As a humorous reminder that a dress is just a one cast version of a blouse and skirt, Nora Rochel adds a new element to her work by introducing cloth structures and laces in unexpected places.

The exhibition will be also on show from the 12th of June until the 12th of July at Gallery Atta in Thailand, Bangkok.

Nora Rochel  Necklace: Untitled 2010  925 Silver, blackened  Photo by Janusch Tschech

 

 

Space Duru
619-8 Sinsa-dong
Gangnam-gu – Seoul
Republic of Korea
website: www.spaceduru.com
mail: [e-mail]

 

EXPO ‘I am an Other’ – Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv (IL) – 10 Juin-20 Nov. 2012

« I am an Other »

The sixth exhibit of Israeli jewelry deals with the perception of « the other self, » or the alter ego. Fifty-three artists participating in the exhibit set out on an inner journey, the process resulting in diverse expressions: virtuosic jewelry-makers who are usually meticulous in their work chose to free themselves of the constraints and make room for expression ; some used organic materials; some turned to figurative creation, thus giving the human form an expression of « the other self, » while other artists chose the abstract to convey biographical moments. Some preferred the multitude so as not to focus the idea of « the other self » on a single item, while others preferred simplification and catharsis. It appears that the majority of Israeli jewelry-makers do not wear the jewelry they create, and some wear no jewelry at all. For this exhibit they created jewelry for themselves.

« The selection of an abstract concept for this exhibition – Alter Ego (the Self as Other) — generated an extensive and riveting dialogue with participating artists. The process that resulted engendered layered and varied works that reflect the multi-faceted nature of this concept.  The underlying premise the artists were invited to consider was the notion that the ornamental artifact — an intimate object placed directly on the body — can represent parts of the Self, including its inverse or hidden elements.  The ornament also draws the gaze of others; the visual cues it offers subtly influence other forms of communication.
The roots of the term alter ego come from ancient Greek philosophy.  When Zeno of Cittium, founder of the Stoic school of Greek Philosophy, was asked, “what is a friend?” he responded: “allos ego,” that is, alter ego.  In a similar vein, Aristotle suggested that a friend should be treated like a second self.  Over time, the word ego came to mean “I” in Latin.  In the modern era, Sigmund Freud extended the word’s meaning when he defined it as a central element of the psyche.  The alter ego has been seen by psychology mainly as the inversion of the way the Self normally presents itself publicly.  But the notion remains vague and elusive.
The alter ego has many cultural expressions: in pop and rock music, where artists embody fictional figures through which they can present new and experimental musical content; in the world of Comics, where an everyday person turns into a superhero; in literature that deals with two sets of personalities within a single person, and more.  Philosophers discussed the alter ego in the context of reciprocal relations, and as part of the effort to understand the Self.  As it turns out, scientists have found that a “mirror neuron network” in the brain allows us to experience the Other’s gestures as though they were our own, so that observing others is an inseparable element of self-understanding.
After they were introduced to the varied cultural manifestations of the alter ego, the jewelry makers were invited to design a jewel that would reflect their own alter ego.  Some artists chose to shed the rigid discipline that characterizes their virtuoso work, and allowed chance to influence the artifact, suggesting an alter ego that is out of control; others chose a figurative image of a face or person meant to convey a miniaturized Self, or created prostheses and additions to the face, embodying aspects of the self that go unexpressed in daily life; several chose animals to convey the complex relation with the Other – an ally or a distant and threatening figure.  Others chose images suggesting motion, such as boats representing sailing from the exterior inwardly and vice versa.  Some artists worked with abstract forms generated from a clear, personal context, forms that permitted a different self to momentarily show through; others worked with round shapes that express the Yin Yang principle and with it the notion that we must harmonize the contradictory elements of the self.  Finally, several artists related to the written word or a writing implement as a way to represent either the Self or the alter ego.
It seems that the exhibition highlights the fact that jewel-craft – a realm of intricate detail – spans a great deal of conceptual space.  Jewelers contract entire worlds into physical artifacts measured in centimeters, but the variety of responses engendered in the vast arena surrounding a single idea is near infinite. » Nirith Nelson,  Curator

The participating artists are:  Merav Oster-Roth — Michal Oren — Bianca Eshel Gershuni — Ela Bauer — Vered Babai — Jakob Bloch — Shirly Bar-Amotz — Naama Bergman — Tal Gur — Lena Dubinsky — Nirit Dekel — Edda Vardimon Gudnason — Noga Hadad — Dana Hakim — Attai Chen — Doron Taubenfeld — Micha Yehieli – Shachar Cohen — Tehila Levi Hyndman — Hadas Levin — Gregory Larin — Leonie Philpot — Einat Primo — Gad Charny — Yaacov Kaufman — Ilan Korren — Vered Kaminski — Esther Knobel — Doron Rabina — Reddish (Naama Steinbock & Idan Friedman) — Galya Rosenfeld — Kobi Roth — Ifia Rousak — Sivan Shoshan — Deganit Stern Schocken

Merav Oster-Roth

Esther Knobel,  Medals

Dana Hakim, My Four Guardian Angles (from the Blue Series)

Vered Kaminski, untitled

Merav Oster Rot,  20% shipwreck

Tehila Levi Hindman – Subala
Shirly Bar-Amotz, Wheat

  Bianca Eshel-Gershuni – Earring, ca. 1980 – Shell, aluminum foil, feathers, metal, glass beads
Deganit Stern Schocken – Body piece, 1993 – Nickel silver, stainless steel, silver, paper, shell

  Gregory Larin – Phantom

Attai Chen

Kobi Roth. Google Earth Brooch 

Einat Primo chains

Vered Babai  – wood ring

Edda Vardimon-Gudnason  – Angel Pendant

Michal Oren – on the contrary (from the series “thinking about places”) : 2009 / oxidized silver

Nirit Dekel

Sivan Shoshan

Micha Yehieli

Doron Taubenfeld  – recycling collection ring

 

 

Eretz Israel Museum

2 Haim Levanon St., Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69975

[e-mail]

 

BOOK

Women’s Tales FOUR LEADING ISRAELI JEWELERS – The first comprehensive study of Israeli contemporary jewelry by focusing on careers of four of its leading women jewelers: Bianca Eshel-Gershuni, Vered Kaminski, Esther Knobel, and Deganit Stern Schocken. Text: Davira Taragin, AlexWard Helen W. Drutt English 128 pages, 80 color plates 2006, English