AJF made a contribution to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston that may have gone unnoticed by many AJF members. In 2006 the Museum was seeking funding support for the acquisition of “Neckpiece for Zymrina: a prostitute of Pompeii” by Keith Lewis. The museum desired to connect and contrast this important contemporary work with its collection of ancient Roman fresco paintings and classical jewelry. AJF, along with many individual AJF members, contributed funds which enabled the museum to add this master work to their jewelry collection.

Beginning with the Helen Drutt bequest, the Houston museum has made a serious commitment to collecting and displaying significant contemporary art jewelry. The museum felt Lewis’s finely crafted neckpiece with its historic references would be an important addition to their collection, enabling a comparative dialog between classical and contemporary jewelry. Keith Lewis is very appreciative for both the recognition by the museum and the support the acquisition received from AJF and its members.

Please visit the AJF website for news on other important programs and contributions we have made to provide opportunities for art jewelry to by enjoyed and appreciated.

Image: “Neckpiece for Zymrina: a prostitute of Pompeii” 2002 (neckpiece with 5 pins) sterling silver, fine silver, 24K gold plate, enamel on copper, pearls. Entire piece: 26 cm dia., largest pin: 6 x 11 x 1 cm. Photo courtesy of the artist.

The Mint Museum of Craft + Design has focused on raising capital to expand its contemporary international jewelry collection. The museum will add breadth and dimension to it’s collection by acquiring contemporary jewelry works that exhibit innovation, and originality and distinction in design. The end goal is to assemble a collection which will chronicle original conceptual and technical developments.

Assisting the museum in the search for the rare, the unusual and the nearly unobtainable is AJF member and jewelry collecting pioneer Susan Beech. Susan is working with the museum to build the collection, and the museum staff continues to benefit from her extensive knowledge and critical commentary.

Among the many fine works the museum collected at SOFA Chicago 2006 were works by Lisa Gralnick, Sergey Jivetin, Ruudt Peters, Annamaria Zanella and Katja Prin. These acquisitions illustrate the physical and imaginative exploration of nontraditional materials by artists from across the globe to create alluring and wearable works of art.

Image: Annamaria Zenella, Brooch, 2006 silver enamel gold and pigment. Photo: courtesy of the Mint Museum of Craft + Design

• SOFA has announced that Opening Night will move to Thursday evening, May 31. For more information use the "Quick Link" to visit the SOFA website.

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