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September Issue
2009
The Center for
Craft, Creativity & Design in Hendersonville, NC, Offer Exhibit
of Jewelry and Blacksmithing
The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design in Hendersonville, NC, will present the exhibit, Different Tempers: Jewelry & Blacksmithing, on view from Sept. 1 through Dec. 11, 2009. The exhibit was curated by Suzanne Ramljak, editor of Metalsmith magazine. This exhibition features works by 14 nationally known metalsmiths.
While jewelry and blacksmithing
are both grounded in metal, there is a curious gulf between the
two fields. Just as George Bernard Shaw quipped that England and
America "are two countries separated by the same language,"
jewelers and blacksmiths remain foreign cousins in spite of their
shared medium. Different Tempers will explore these two
realms of metalsmithing to highlight their distinct properties
as well as their commonalities.
Albert Paley ------------------------------------ Natasha Wozniak
Curated by Suzanne Ramljak, editor of Metalsmith magazine, the exhibition will showcase the work of fourteen prominent and emerging artists: Melanie Bilenker, Lola Brooks, David Clemons, Maegan Crowley, Pat Flynn, Lu Heintz, Sergey Jivetin, Tom Joyce, Brent Kington, Marc Maiorana, Albert Paley, Mary Preston, Sondra Sherman, and Natasha Wozniak. The works of these selected jewelers and blacksmiths epitomize their respective fields, and are also in critical dialogue with their own traditions and materials.
In addition to underlining the shared aesthetic and formal language of these practices, the exhibit will also provide a timely opportunity to examine issues of artistic difference. In this era of hybridization and blurring boundaries, there is very little premium placed on such distinctions. Yet the process of distinguishing dissimilar traits remains crucial to the full appreciation of any medium.
Together, the approximately
40 objects will reveal the engaging range of work arising from
both the jeweler's bench and blacksmith's forge, spanning wearable
ornament to large-scale sculpture. The full spectrum of metals
will also be represented, including gold, platinum, fine and sterling
silver, pewter, iron, stainless steel, mild steel, and patterned
steel, in tandem with other materials such as optical lenses,
watch hands,
and hair.
A fully illustrated catalogue will accompany the exhibition, with an essay exploring the vital issues related to these two creative spheres. Among the topics to be addressed include the historical status of blacksmiths and goldsmiths, revisions of traditional methods and forms, increasing hybridization within metalsmithing practice, the importance of function, and the role of process and materials in determining the final properties of an object.
The Center for Craft, Creativity and Design is an inter-institutional center of the University of North Carolina, located 5 miles west of Hendersonville, adjacent to the UNC Asheville Kellogg Center. Visitors are invited to walk the Perry N. Rudnick one-mile nature and public art trail following a visit to the exhibition in the Craft Center galleries.
For further information
check our NC Institutional Gallery listings, call the Center at
828/890-2050 or visit (www.craftcreativitydesign.org).
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