Placement: Art Jewellery X Street Art
Down the block from the new Whitney Museum of American Art in an area and city that boasts emanate energy and art, an original initiative has been developed titled Placement.
The fine jewellery section includes high-end, handcrafted pieces and incorporates a workshop and goldsmith inviting visitors in for a look into the process of creation. Continuing into the space, visitors encounter the art jewellery selection. R|R Gallery not only holds this different form of jewellery but also functions as an driver in pushing the boundaries of what art jewellery is. Like many forms of art, art jewellery focus heavily on materials, be it metal, dried flowers or bone, as well as concept. Featuring this form of jewellery alongside the fine jewellery is a proof that the two can co-exist.
Presented by R|R Gallery and the i-i, Placement is a group exhibition of artwork created in a collaboration between prominent art jewellers and street artists. Seven art jewellers and seven street artists were paired for this initiative with the task to create a selection of unique pieces for the exhibition, wearable and non-wearable. The street artists include CYRCLE, Skullphone, ASVP, Logan Hicks, Vexta, Jon Burgerman, and Amanda Marie while the art jewellers include Lynn Batchelder, Jessica Calderwood, Arthur Hash, Steven Gordon Holman, Tara Locklear, Sharon Massey and Mallory Weston. Street art and art jewellery are fast evolving art forms that make use of a wide range of techniques and materials that allow them to be ideal forms of experimentation within an exhibition context.
Art jewellery and street art make use of different skill sets and means of expression. While the combination of the two genres may surprise many, R|R Gallery’s director Bella Neyman the individual behind the idea, points to the fact that they have much in common. Importantly, both are highly connected to public display. Just as street art invites admiration and conversation so does a piece of art jewellery when worn publicly. According to Neyman “jewellery invites people on the street to come closer and start conversations, a feature that is shared with street art.”
Another common element for the two genres is the critical importance of placement for success or failure. In street art this refers to the actual location for the piece. In the world of traditional jewellery, placement refers to the use of the piece, whether on the ear, the wrist or around the neck. However, in art jewellery, which is highly conceptual and material driven, the concept of placement can be challenged and even the definition of what jewellery it can be, and often is, questioned.
The collaboration challenged the artists to explore different worlds, skill sets, and types of creativity to evolve new work in new mediums and genres as well as a new experience for the audience. The artists from both genres saw this as an opportunity to push their boundaries. The result is an exhibition that explores that concept of placement and the formation of a significant part of artwork alongside form, function and material. Finally, Placement challenges street art and art jewellery’s placement in the minds of it audience.
The exhibition will be on display from Saturday May 16 – Sunday 28 June 2015 at R|R Gallery, New York, United States.
—
