We are pleased to announce the 2012 winner of the Emerging Artist Award is Noon Passama Sanpatchayapong. Noon received her Bachelor of Industrial Design from Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand (2005) and a Bachelor of Design from Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam, Netherlands (2010). Noon was chosen from more than 130 entries representing 25 countries.

The goal of the Emerging Artist Award is to acknowledge promise, innovation and individuality in art jewelry. Criteria used in judging were originality, depth of concept and quality of craftsmanship. Jurors for the 2012 competition were: Kelly L'Ecuyer, the Ellyn McColgan Curator of Decorative Arts and Sculpture, Art of the Americas, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts; Marjan Unger, a Dutch collector, curator, professor, and writer; and Farrah Al Dujaili, studio jeweler and 2012 winner of AJF's Emerging Artist Award. Passama will receive a cash award of $7500 US and Galerie Ra  will feature her work at the Collect fair in 2013. 

Noon submitted a necklace collection based on the chain form. Quoting Marjan Unger, 'The chain is the classic backbone of the jewelry field. Everything that matters in a good chain lies in one element and the way it links with its neighbors. The series of chains Noon developed is beautiful in its basic shapes and its proportions. Each one has a personality, one is fat and tasty, and another is angular and nervous. It is a brave subject to choose. It takes a very good artist to reach this level of expression within all the limits of a chain and to add something worthwhile to a very long history.'

Inspired American jeweler Lola Brooks was chosen to make the 2013 AJF membership pin. It's big, bold, fantastic metallic plastic! Lola is an artist, metalsmith, clotheshorse and occasional writer. She studied fashion at Pratt Institute, New York, New York and is a graduate from SUNY New Paltz, New York. She is currently the distinguished Lamar Dodd Professorial Chair at the University of Georgia, Athens. Lola has taught at Rhode Island School of Design, University of the Arts, Philadelphia and SUNY New Paltz. Thank you Lola for such a great addition to the ever-growing collection of  

AJF membership pins.    

We have added two wonderful members to the AJF board, Bella Neyman and Jenni Sorkin. These two bring new depth and energy to our small but energetic group. Welcome to both of you.

Bella Neyman is a young design historian and journalist based in New York City. Recent writing for AJF includes Space-Light-Structure: The Jewelry Of Margaret De Patta, a review of the exhibit at the Museum of Art and Design in New York. Bella's jewelry and design articles have been published in magazines and newsprint and she blogs about design, fashion and jewelry on her website Objects Not Paintings. As you can see, there are many ways she will be an excellent addition to the AJF board.

Jenni Sorkin is on the faculty of the University of Houston, Texas and holds degrees from The Art Institute of Chicago, Bard College and a PhD from Yale University. She is interested in the confluence of gender and material culture and is currently completing a book titled Live Form: Craft as Participation. Jenni brings to the board an educator's perspective and the point of view of a jewelry outsider. Although she is deeply familiar with contemporary craft, Jenni has not spent time looking closely at jewelry. We welcome her viewpoint to direct the policies of the board.

From December 5 through December 9 there are a slew of art fairs in Miami, Florida. AJF member galleries are participating in two of them. This could very well become the best location to see extraordinary jewelry. Goodbye SOFA New York and SOFA Santa Fe, and hello Florida!

The prestigious fair Design Miami features Caroline Van Hoek Contemporary Art Jewelry, Ornamentum and Antonella Villanova. Red Dot Art Fair lists Charon Kransen Arts and Donna Schneier Fine Arts among their participants. If you would like a VIP pass to one of these shows, get in touch with us right away so we can get it into 'will call' for you.

Merry Renk (1921-2012), Butterfly Tree (Californiana series), crown--silver and gold, 2 x 9 x 9 in. (5 x 22.8 x 22.8 cm.), executed in 1982-2009, photo: Christie's website

On November 14, 2012, Sotheby's Contemporary Day Auction sold an Alexander Calder necklace for $278,500.

LAMA (Los Angeles Modern Auctions)  

October Results 

UPCOMING AUCTIONS 

Clars Auction Gallery in Oakland, California, will be featuring jewelry by  Salvador Dali.

Preview: December 7, 2012

Auction: December 8 and 9, 2012

LAMA (Los Angeles Modern Auctions)

December 16, 2012 auction includes brooches by Alexander Calder and Jean Arp.

IF YOU MISSED IT: AJF RECENT EVENTS     

November 2, 2012

KORU4 Symposium, Imatra, Finland

Rebekah Frank

The symposium held as part of the KORU4 event in Imatra, Finland, featured a varied roster of speakers. Davira Taragin was the keynote speaker and many contemporary jewelry artists spoke, including Ruudt Peters, Evert Nijland, Mia Maljojoki, and Anna Rikkinen. Two Finnish researchers brought an outside perspective to the conversation---Dr. Pia Tikka, whose research project utilizes film and neuroscience to understand human emotions, and Heidi Piili, whose expertise in laser technology peaked interest in how the technology can be used for contemporary jewelry. The symposium provided a springboard to future collaborations and gave the attendees ample topics for conversation during the ensuing Kindred Spirits exhibition and final dinner.

November 10, 2012

Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show 

Legends: Studio Jewelry by Emily Cobb at The Philadelphia Art Alliance

and Mari and Peter Shaw's collection

Susan Cummins

Doug Bucci, AJF board member, professor, and maker had the great idea of putting together this event in Philadelphia. We had a lovely group of 15 people. Sarah Archer, chief curator at the Philadelphia Art Alliance, kindly hosted a walkthrough of the 36th annual Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show. She took us to the booths of Biba Schutz, Ford and Forlano and John Iversen to name a few.   

Then, we zipped across town to the Philadelphia Art Alliance where Emily Cobb discussed her storytelling in Legends: Studio Jewelry by Emily Cobb. This is remarkable work for it utilizes new technology but retains the allure of imagination over  

the medium.   

The visit to Mari and Peter Shaw's lovely row house had me envying parts of both their art and jewelry collections. I was particularly taken by the Manfred Bischoff brooch Mari was wearing and by the tasty little Robert Ryman in the dining room. Thank you to everyone involved for your gracious hosting and organizing of this event.

The AJF website has many layers of information and articles. Perhaps there is a section or two you haven't visited? Here's a taste of one of our Museum Profiles, an interview by Damian Skinner with Ursula Ilse-Neuman, curator at the Museum of Art and Design.    

This month's AJF Questionnaire has been answered by Charon Kransen of Charon Kransen Arts, New York City, New York.  

Damian Skinner: How do you think the future of this business will develop?

Charon Kransen: In my bad moments I think everybody is going to go in the direction of mainstream, totally accessible commercial jewelry. In my good moments I believe this is still a growing field of people who desperately want to distinguish themselves and have the means to do so. We and the makers offer people things most people don't even know they want, need, desire. We fulfill a need and wet people's appetite to enhance their lives. Read more...  

Putti Art Gallery

Valdis Broze

November 29, 2012 - December 8, 2012 

Galerie Rob Koudijs  

Fielike van de Leest: Once Upon a Time in My West (part 2)   

November 3, 2012 - December 22, 2012 

Society of Contemporary Craft

Badges & Buttons, Waistcoats & Vests 

October 12, 2012 - February 17, 2013  

Galerie Spektrum

Doris Betz/Attai Chen

November 22, 2012 - January 26, 2013 

Maurer-Zilioli

Ulla + Martin Kaufmann

November 29, 2012 - December 8, 2012

Traver Gallery

Nancy Worden