Irish Arts Review

Jewellery's New WaveAuthor(s): Alison FitzgeraldSource: Irish Arts Review (2002-), Vol. 24, No. 4 (Winter, 2007), pp. 142-143Published by: Irish Arts ReviewStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25503639 .

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JEWELLERY'S NEW WAVE DESIGN

Jewellery's New Wave

Jewellery ranked strongly at SOFA in Chicago this winter with five makers from Ireland

introducing bold new collections to an international audience, writes ALISON FITZGERALD

The 14th annual international exposition of

Sculpture Objects and Functional Design (SOFA) was held in Chicago in early November. For the sec

ond consecutive year the Crafts Council of Ireland

(CCol) exhibited, along with representatives from seventeen

other countries. SOFA offers an exceptional opportunity for

developing links with galleries and collectors, particularly in

North America, and Ireland's participation is part of an ongoing

commitment on the part of the Crafts Council to promote and

raise the profile of Irish design in the United States. The seven

teen makers chosen were selected by a panel of independent

experts, including Sarah Edwards of Contemporary Applied Arts, London; Bruce Pepich, Director of the Racine Art

Museum, Wisconsin, and the artist and curator Brian ^

Kennedy. Although there was a breadth to the disci

plines represented, jewellery ranked strongly, with

T

work by Berina Kelly, Sonja Landweer, Rachel McKnight, Inga Reed and Angela O'Kelly. While Kelly and Reed work predom inantly with precious metals, Landweer, McKnight and O'Kelly draw on an eclectic range of materials, from hand-dyed

polypropylene to Japanese fabric paper.

A native of Co Galway, Berina Kelly is a graduate of the

CCoI's Goldsmithing and Jewellery Design and Production

Course, an intensive two-year programme, which hones tradi

tional skills, while encouraging business acumen. Kelly's work

(Fig 4) is inspired by the idiosyncrasies found in nature. Whilst

ostensibly geometrical, there is a conscious randomness to the

way in which forms are finished, wires are coiled, and patterns

drilled. Silver is passed through a roller with heavy watercolour

paper to eliminate the machined-appearance of the raw

/metal. Perforations are made using a hand-held drill to

create irregular patterns. Extensive drawing always pref

aces the three-dimensional work. Organic designs, such as

leaves apparently eaten away by insect

bites provide conceptual

starting points. ^^^^^0**""^"* -sv

V

^:*>

142 IRISH ARTS REVIEW WINTER 2007

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1

Inga Reed also invests significantly in the design process. She is motivated by a desire to create well-conceived work, overtly

simple in form, which exposes what she calls the 'thinking behind

the making', and the processes by which a piece is realised. Her

interest in revealed construction can involve painstaking atten

tion to small details. Like Kelly, much of her work is roller-tex

tured and she employs techniques such as sandblasting or

oxidation to heighten the contrasting colours of silver and gold

(Fig 5). Recent exposure to the work of American sculptor Richard Serra, coupled with a visit to the Guggenheim Museum

in Bilbao, have encouraged Reed to experiment with large forms.

Though she relies on precious metals, her work ranges from the

broadly commercial to the

exclusively bespoke.

Rachel Mc Knight was the

youngest jeweller representing

Ireland at SOFA. Having

completed her undergraduate

degree at the University of

Ulster in 2003, McKnight later secured a residency as

part of Craft Northern Ireland's

Making It scheme. This excel

lent initiative not only pro

vided business and financial

support, but opportunities for

experimenting with new technology. Her work combines silver

with plastic, hand-coloured rubber and Perspex, juxtaposing the

transparency of synthetic materials with the opacity of metal

(Fig 2). Most recently she has engaged the use of a laser cutter,

which offers potential for speeding up fabrication whilst also

producing more intricate work.

Although undoubtedly one of the most experienced practi

tioners selected to exhibit, Sonja Landweer arguably faced the

greatest challenge. US customs regulations prohibit the impor

tation of feathers and bone; in short the sort of natural, non-pre

cious materials intrinsic to Landweer's working process.

Undaunted, she created a collection entitled 'Red

Baroque' employing mock coral, carved beads, and

Day-Glo sequins (Fig 1). The use of nylon monofilament stems from a stay in

Crete during the 1990s, where the

skeletal winter landscape encouraged her

"to-explore knotting techniques and 'prickly'

grfr^s. Whilst seeking to expand conventional

perceptions of personal adornment, function is not

sacrificed at the expense of form; gold crimps for

instance, soften the effect of nylon on skin.

^ike Landweer, Angela O'Kelly also skilfully decon structs perceived notions of preciousness. Her neck

and arm pieces, formed from newspaper, felt and

Japanese fabric paper rely on intricate layering,

robust sculptural forms and a bold and intu

itive use of colour. As an undergraduate at

Edinburgh College of Art, O'Kelly

?$ 3?Hps| discovered that the paper moulds

S^?Wi use<^ ^?r meta^ casting offered

r?jfcj more scope for design develop

fp 11 ment than their metal yield. Her 11 1 1 work for SOFA included the

lili clever 'Bird' series, where detach

11 il able brooches are invisibly fixed 1 1 4? 1 using magnets to fabric-covered

1 i 1 1 wall panels (Fig 3). As 'wearable

1 i jL] art' they intentionally blur out

r&?fi^. dated boundaries between fine

Jj^^^Kb- and applied art practice.

id .J^^^^Hr Paradoxically, given our cur

;^^^^K; rent economic prosperity, many of

J^^HH^^Hp the most original pieces produced

gl^^^MBS" "

by Irish designer makers in this

;J|^^^B|t field are currently being acquired

^IB^Bp ?y overseas collectors. Conversely, wr

the vast majority o? work going ** through the Dublin Assay office

for hallmarking originates from countries like China and Thailand, where labour costs are not only lower, but state of the art technol

ogy allows for the production of high quality and affordable work.

At a time when the industry in Ireland faces dual challenges, from

mass-produced Far Eastern imports, and a propensity to associate

'designer' with global brands, it is worth remembering both histor

ical and more recent campaigns to buy Irish.

ALISON FITZGERALD is an IRCHSS Post-Doctoral Fellow in Design History at

University College Dublin.

1 Sonja Landweer

Neckpiece: Red Jap Fantasy Red resin

ovals, African

turquoise, Day Glo

sequins, fake coral, carved Japanese beads, metal

cylinders, gold crimps, nylon monofilament

2 Rachel McKnight Six Large Bangles Hand dyed polypropylene and silver

3 Angela O'Kelly

Wallpanel: Bird on a Tree Series Painted and distressed fabric mounted on a wooden frame with detachable brooch: Felt and paper yarn tipped with platinum

4 B Erin a Kelly

Earrings II: 'Curious, Hope' Roller textured and

perforated sterling silver discs and 18ct yellow gold wire circles

5 Inga Reed Multiple Pendant Roller textured and oxidized multiple silver pendant with

gold detail mounted on an oxidized silver snake chain

WINTER 2007 IRISH ARTS REVIEW | 1 4 3

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