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Alexander Calder's Jewelry |
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Written by Karla Klein Albertson
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Calder's vocabulary of shapes, including snakes, spirals and circles, was repeated in his jewelry
People usually wear jewelry to enhance an outfit. But if the jewelry is the creation of a major sculptor, one might say, it wears the owner. Putting on a piece of jewelry made by Alexander Calder (American, 1898-1976) is an act of performance art. The wearer’s body and the small-scale metal sculpture interact.
A 1976 cover illustration from The New York Times Magazine shows actress Angelica Huston wearing a Calder necklace known as “The Jealous Husband.” Her body presents the sculpture, while the necklace enhances her beauty—a perfect performance.
Calder Jewelry, currently on view at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Fla., is the first exhibition to focus exclusively on this aspect of the artist’s career. Around a hundred pieces of jewelry are on display from the approximately 1,800 Calder created during his career—each handmade, each unique. The traveling show continues on during 2008 and 2009 to Philadelphia, New York and Dublin.
Click here to read the complete article in the May 2008 issue of Style Century Magazine.
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Written by Tom Hoepf
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Pablo Picasso, arguably the father of modern art and certainly the most famous artist of the 20th century, remains as inscrutable as some of his artworks.
In a life fraught with turmoil and controversy, Picasso worked tirelessly from the time he was a child prodigy in his native Spain until he became a venerable icon. Productive and vital until his death at age 92 in 1973, Picasso created a huge body of work. In addition to paintings that made him famous, he produced etchings, lithographs, linocuts, sculptures, drawings and, late in his career, ceramics.
Picasso pottery, which represents his lighter side, is the artwork that is most accessible to collectors.
Read the complete story in the April 2008 issue of Style Century Magazine. Click here to read this issue. |
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Written by Tom Hoepf
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Pottery jugs personify Southern folk art
With gaping mouths half filled with crooked teeth, a luminous green complexion tinged in runny blotches and startling expressions likely to scare the bejesus out of children, Southern pottery face jugs have transcended their earthy roots to become revered examples of folk art.
What makes something so grotesque appealing to collectors? “It’s funny because that’s exactly what attracted me,” said Steve Slotin of Slotin Folk Art, Gainesville, Ga. “I looked at the face on the jug and said, ‘That’s the ugliest thing I have ever seen—I love that!’”
Read the complete story by clicking the link below.
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Georg Jensen: Father of Danish Modern Silver |
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Written by Alan Jaffe
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Jensen’s style reflected themes from nature
In the realm of silversmithing, the name Georg Jensen is the epitome of the craft. Longtime collectors seek out Art Nouveau-influenced Jensen hollowware – the large tableware that is both highly decorative and functional. Younger consumers, on the other hand, tend to favor the modernist flatware and jewelry – the more-affordable pieces that still reflect the uncompromising quality long associated with the Jensen marque.
“It’s like the names Tiffany and Cartier,” said Michael Millea, co-owner of Millea Bros. Ltd., the Madison, N.J.-based auction house. “If you look at auctioneers’ catalogs, Jensen is always a draw – it was 10 years ago, and it is today. Jensen is the kind of thing that is always popular.”
Read the complete story in the February 2008 issue of Style Century Magazine.
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Written by Tom Hoepf
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Traditional American blacksmiths are forging a comeback
Iron, the most important metal in building civilizations, is often taken for granted by modern man, but never by blacksmiths.
Iron is found in ores that are abundant and widely distributed in the earth’s crust, but rarely in a pure state. Iron ore must be refined for commercial use by smelting. The most versatile product from the smelting process was wrought iron, the blacksmith’s raw material.
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