Materials: sterling silver, patina
Dimensions: 4.5" x 2" x2"
Photo credit: Ethan Bickford
Zoa Chimerum Jewelry
Ian T Henderson
Boston, MA. USA
These works were all made in collaboration with Artist Clint Fulkerson using a double-blind iterative building process based on the surrealist parlor game “exquisite corpse” The forms were developed in turns by both artists, each blind to the contributions of the other, until the end of the process when the wax models were cast in metal.
It is through this blind collaboration that the artists were able to blend their different formal intuitions into unified shapes which are at once chaotic and somehow coherent. The lattice structures, nested globules, and brachial venations favored by Clint Fulkerson are offset, opposed against, and finally enveloped by the insectine chambering, undulating striations, and gothic imbrications of Ian Henderson.
The end result is at once naturalistic and mechanistic.
Ganoksin hosts the jewelry list Orchid, with over 13,000 list members from all over the world, speaking from a wide range of technical and aesthetic experiences. The exhibition theme grew out of a desire to celebrate the creativity encompassed in this wide variety.
Artists were free to interpret the theme in any way they chose. Each artist could submit up to six pieces. Interpretations include uniting different materials into one cohesive form; intellectual and emotional “unitings”, where the meaning of the piece unites multiple concepts; the uniting of time - past, present and future; and a number that focus on the harmony created when uniting multiple materials and/or concepts.
The work submitted involved a wide range of jewelry techniques, from very traditional to very cutting edge, as well as using materials from traditional precious metals and gemstones to “re-purposed” and “up-cycled” materials.
The exhibition showcases 330 images chosen from entries from over 111 artists representing 26 countries.
Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Serbia, Spain, Trinidad, Turkey, UK, USA, Venezuela, and the Virgin Islands
Many of the participants began their interest in jewelry at a young age. Some are relative newcomers to the field, and some have over 35 years of experience as professional jewelers and goldsmiths. While some grew up in families that were goldsmiths, and followed in those footsteps, others only began creating jewelry as adults.
