Velvet Da Vinci Gallery News

Coming Soon: Chased + Repoussé (Starts Wednesday, March 17)

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:02:12 +0000

Curated by Nancy Megan Corwin

Chased + Repoussé, is presented in conjunction with the release of the recent publication of Chasing and Repoussé, Methods Ancient and Modern by Nancy Megan Corwin. This exhibition includes work from twentyone contemporary artists who share a passion for these ancient metalworking techniques, many of whom have work included in Corwin's book. Completely individual, the nineteen artists reflect a range from traditional roots to modern approaches to the practice of chasing and repoussé. Dating back to antiquity, the technique has been used to add embellishment on armour, large scale sculpture, and gold and silver jewelry for thousands of years. The Statue of Liberty was formed from a sheet of copper using chasing and repoussé, as was the mummy mask of King Tutankhamun.

Chasing and repoussé are methods of metalworking in which the metal is embossed from both the front and the back, creating a three-dimensional form from a two-dimensional sheet. Repoussé is a French word meaning "to push up or forward." It refers to a family of techniques that form sheet metal. Repoussé can be thought of as focusing on the creation of volume, while chasing includes various work done to the front such as planishing, lining, matting, and making crisp edges on forms that were raised from behind. The techniques of chasing and repoussé are traditionally used to add detail to the surface of a piece of hollowware or jewelry. Sheet metal, hollow-formed metal, flatware, and sculptures can all be chased (textured and refined from the front with steel tools called chasing tools and using a chasing hammer), and worked from the back with soft-faced steel tools (repoussé). Although there are many approaches throughout the world to these techniques, the process is common in one important aspect. The work is held steady in a material called pitch (wood-based resin combined with wax and plaster), and hammered with fine steel tools. Pitch can be held in a heavy metal bowl, spread on a piece of wood or poured into the hollowware piece that is being chased. The versatility of this material is what gives chasing its sculptural and detail possibilities. Contemporary metalsmiths continue to apply these techniques in both traditional and non-traditional ways. What makes these techniques contemporary is the freedom that many artists experience in terms of content and aesthetic.

Nancy Megan Corwin's Chasing and Repoussé, Methods Ancient and Modern was published by Brynmorgen Press in 2009. A recent recipient of the GAP (Grants for Artists) Grant from the Artists Trust of Seattle, WA, her work is included in the permanent collection of the Tacoma Art Museum and has been exhibited internationally.

David Huang "Lucent Terrain #799" vessel

David Huang "Lucent Terrain #799" vessel (detail)

David Huang "Luminous Relic #798" vessel

View all available images from this exhibition

Velvet da Vinci Gallery
Contemporary Art Jewelry and Metalwork
2015 Polk Street (between Pacific and Broadway)
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-441-0109

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Coming Soon: Rob Jackson (Starts Wednesday, March 17)

Mon, 1 Mar 2010 18:13:47 +0000

THE ELOQUENT NAIL

ARTIST STATEMENT

ROB JACKSON: THE ELOQUENT NAIL

This body of work explores the use of found steel fragments used in a jewelry context for their aesthetics of form and surface. 100 year-old hand forged nails and other common utilitarian objects of our culture, once used and later discarded, are sculpted and surfaced by the elements over time. Chosen for their boldly eroded forms and tactile surfaces, pieces of rusted steel are taken out of their original context and highlighted with small amounts of gold and semi-precious stones. In a reversal of traditional roles, the gold often becomes subservient to the steel, questioning perceived values of preciousness. As the gold is often confined to roles of joinery and findings, the discarded steel, with its former utilitarian function obsolete, is now viewed for its aesthetic integrity of form and surface.

Rob Jackson is an Associate Professor and Area Chair for the Jewelry/Metals program at the University of Georgia. He has taught frequently at the Penland School of Crafts and with the University of Georgia's Study Abroad program in Cortona, Italy. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally including: "The New Steel: V_2" (Memphis, TN)
"Golden Opportunity" (Chicago, IL and London, England), "Exquisite Scrap" (St. Louis, MO) and "Handcrafted" (Best of Show, Rocky Mount, NC)

Rob's work investigating the use of found steel fragments in a jewelry format is documented in the chapter Rust Incorporated in The Penland Book of Jewelry, published by Lark Books.

Other selected publications include:
500 Pendants & Lockets
500 Earrings
500 Necklaces
"Flatware: Function + Fantasy", Exhibition in Print Metalsmith
"Breaking the Code" Exhibition in Print, Metalsmith
500 Brooches
1000 Rings

"Amulet"

"Amulet"(open)

"Chanterelle" Ring

View all available images from this exhibition

Velvet da Vinci Gallery
Contemporary Art Jewelry and Metalwork
2015 Polk Street (between Pacific and Broadway)
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-441-0109

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Coming Soon: Boris Bally (Starts Saturday, May 1)

Sun, 3 Jan 2010 17:52:54 +0000

Velvet da Vinci Gallery
Contemporary Art Jewelry and Metalwork
2015 Polk Street (between Pacific and Broadway)
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-441-0109

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Coming Soon: Seth Papac (Starts Saturday, May 1)

Sun, 3 Jan 2010 17:53:08 +0000

Velvet da Vinci Gallery
Contemporary Art Jewelry and Metalwork
2015 Polk Street (between Pacific and Broadway)
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-441-0109

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Coming Soon: Dichotomies in Objects: Contemporary South African Studio Jewelry from the Stellenbosch Area (Starts Thursday, July 1)

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 20:08:04 +0000

Curated by Lauren Kalman and Carine Terreblanche

Exhibition catalog available

Independent studio jewelers work within a complex political, social, and economic context. At the bottom of Africa, jewelers often express a feeling of isolation from the global metalsmithing community. Though many South African studio jewelers look toward European aesthetics and methodologies there is a connection to South Africa that seems to permeate their forms. European traditions become hybridized with the heritage of indigenous African adornment, regional landscape, and the commercial jewelry industry. The platinum and diamonds that are mined locally are a major part of the jewelry design vocabulary and are integrated with influences like colonial Dutch architecture, makeshift township settlements, and West African goldsmithing.

Many South African studio jewelers are looking to traditional African jewelry such as gold leaf, beadwork, carved wood, and basket weaving. Nanette Nel, a recent master's student at the University of Stellenbosch, works with disgustingly pink, exotic floral forms made out of silicone rubber. Her handbags, broaches, and rings combine the intensely pigmented synthetic material with, hidden black diamonds, carved wood, and gold leaf. She simultaneously nods to the experimental materials used in contemporary jewelry practices, Ashanti gold-leafed talisman, and the commercialized diamond industry.

Precious materials are often juxtaposed with found debris. Considering the breathtaking and diverse landscape of South Africa indigenous organic objects are naturally a major influence and material in the work. In much of the local work finely crafted settings cradle coal, indigenous woods, and other non-precious materials.

Some jewelers are also looking at pop culture and street crafts. These include trendy designs as well as hand made kitsch. In the jewelry the found object often used to produce a parody of the commercial jewelry industry.

Makeshift construction using materials like rubber, plastic, and recycled metal and can be seen on a daily basis from township buildings to handmade crafts designed for the tourist market. Some jewelers adopt this bricoleur mentality.

The most engaging South African studio jewelers continue to push boundaries in making their work. This gives them the opportunity to influence the commercial industry and challenge narrow views of on what jewelry is and who makes it.

-Lauren Kalman

Velvet da Vinci Gallery
Contemporary Art Jewelry and Metalwork
2015 Polk Street (between Pacific and Broadway)
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-441-0109

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Coming Soon: Lisa and Scott Cylinder (Starts Wednesday, August 11)

Sun, 3 Jan 2010 17:52:12 +0000

Velvet da Vinci Gallery
Contemporary Art Jewelry and Metalwork
2015 Polk Street (between Pacific and Broadway)
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-441-0109

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Coming Soon: Susie Ganch (Starts Wednesday, August 11)

Sun, 3 Jan 2010 17:52:29 +0000

Velvet da Vinci Gallery
Contemporary Art Jewelry and Metalwork
2015 Polk Street (between Pacific and Broadway)
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-441-0109

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Coming Soon: Plastic Jewelry (Starts Friday, October 1)

Fri, 1 Jan 2010 19:21:45 +0000

Velvet da Vinci Gallery
Contemporary Art Jewelry and Metalwork
2015 Polk Street (between Pacific and Broadway)
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-441-0109

If you use iGoogle, use this button to add our news feed to your iGoogle page: