New exhibition explores cutting-edge contemporary studio jewelry from 20th century to present and biennial cups show returns

Boston, MA – The Society of Arts + Crafts announces two new exhibitions opening this fall: Adorning Boston and Beyond: Contemporary Studio Jewelry Then + Now and Our Cups Runneth Over, the 6th iteration of the Society’s biennial exhibition and sale of ceramic cups. Both exhibitions will open on Thursday, November 8, 2018 and be celebrated with a public reception at the Society of Arts + Crafts that same evening from 6-9pm. 

 Adorning Boston and Beyond: Contemporary Studio Jewelry Then + Now, on view November 8, 2018 through February 17, 2019, will explore many of the important developments in contemporary studio jewelry in and around Boston and beyond from the mid-twentieth century to the present.    

The exhibition features the contemporary artistic heirs of seminal artists who worked in Boston and other major locales during the mid-twentieth century. Artists such as Alexander Calder, Art Smith and Margaret De Patta established the Northeast and other areas as hubs of innovation and creativity in studio jewelry. Contemporary artists that have lived, worked and been educated primarily in Boston continue this thread of innovation in contemporary studio jewelry, which focuses on one-of-a-kind handmade pieces that emphasize creative and expression and design, making the genre ideal for experimentation in form, material and concept. Over 30 artists, working throughout mediums will be on view, including: Kathleen Brown, Tanya Crane, Arthur Hash, Lauren Kalman, Tiff Massey, Bruce Metcalf, Myung Urso and Joe Wood.

This exhibition highlights major contemporary jewelers and their work that has influenced the American art jewelry field. The work on view will showcase developments in studio jewelry, including: technical advancements, material investigations, Computer Aided Design (CAD) and idea innovation. All of the artists have mainly resided, practiced, taught or been educated in the US, the majority within the hub of Boston.

Heather White, guest curator of Adorning Boston and Beyond, says of the show: “The exhibition includes work by some of the most important pioneers of the art jewelry movement, prominent educators, and innovative artists who continue to change the way we think of jewelry and body adornment.” White is a Professor of Jewelry and Metalsmithing at MassArt, studio jeweler and curator.

Also opening November 8, 2018 is Our Cups Runneth Over, the 6th biennial cup exhibition and sale. Guest Curator Mary Barringer, ceramic artist and former editor of Studio Potter magazine, sees the exhibition as a means of exploring the notion of a cup as more than a simple vessel. Through cups we encounter intimacy - between lips and cup, between maker and user, between utility and design. The sixth presentation of this Society exhibition gives audiences the opportunity to expand upon their understandings of these objects that serve a function in our daily lives.

Through vignettes and curatorial storytelling, viewers will examine how we define a cup and expand upon its quotidian role. Representative pieces and cups from upwards of 25 artists will be showcased and sold during this special exhibition which has come to be a destination for collectors as well as an important educational destination for students to learn about the various formal, conceptual, and technical approaches that ceramics allows.

About the exhibition Barringer says, “For a simple and often overlooked object, a cup has a lot of complexity, both functionally and visually. This makes the cup an arena of play for the potter, and the site of a very direct and intimate encounter between maker and user. In choosing the artists for this show, I was interested in the many possible answers to the question of fitness and delight.”

Our Cups Runneth Over will also be on view through February 17, 2019.

For a full list of associated programming and events please visit societyofcrafts.org.

The Society of Arts + Crafts is located on the second floor of 100 Pier Four facing Seaport

Avenue. Its hours are 10am-6pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. The Society is open 10am-9pm on Thursdays, and is closed Sunday and Monday. For more information about the Society of Arts and Crafts please visit societyofcraft.org or call 617-266-1810.

CONTACT: Molly Regan

Marketing Manager

617.266.1810 ½ marketing@societyofcrafts.org

Society of Arts and Crafts½100 Pier 4 Blvd. Ste. 200, Boston, MA 02210½societyofcrafts.org

For over a century the Society of Arts and Crafts has connected artists with the communities who sustain them. The Society commits itself to supporting craft artists and advancing public appreciation of contemporary craft.

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