Blooms, Efflorescence, and Other Dermatological Embellishments (Cystic Acne, Back) 2009

Jewelry is a personal business. That is one of the things that I like so much about it. It is meant to be worn, so you need to get close to it, so close it touches you. And sometimes you have to be brave for that.

That is the case with this body piece by Lauren Kalman. She is brave. She is interested in the imaged body, consumer culture, body aesthetics, and illness. She uses the personal closeness of the body for her work.

In this piece, she has replaced cystic acne with traditional jewelry. From a distance it still looks like a severe case of acne and I am quite repelled by that. From up close it shows that it is not acne, but jewelry and I feel relieved. Even closer, it becomes clear that the jewels are pierced trough the skin with acupuncture needles. That makes me feel uneasy at the least, but I also want to touch them. I am not sure if I want take them all out, or if I want to make sure they stay in place; this is what makes this work so intriguing. The fact that I can relate to the person wearing the, surely painful, body piece is exactly the point Lauren Kalman wants to make.

This artist is a member of apparat and Klimt02.

‘Schnee von gestern’ ‘single lift’ — brooch 3

All the snow we have had lately is making me think of one thing: Ski! But since I live in one of the flattest parts of the world, I’ll have to indulge in my craving in a different way. Jantje Fleischuts’ work ‘schnee von gestern’
‘single lift’ — brooch 3 will do perfectly.

The brooch is shaped like a ski lift, the one thing that gives me the ‘I am about to ski’- feeling. After all the dressing up, getting everybody ready, passing the ticket control, hoisting ski’s and poles into the lift, the lift steadily rises, sometimes with a bit of a dangle, to the top of the mountain where slopes are waiting for us. I can imagine how the brooch, when worn, would dangle on the pin as if on a cable, a fun detail to me.

The work is made from a real ski, satisfying me in a sensatory way. Putting on the brooch would make the ski- material close enough to almost feel a drip from the melting of yesterdays’ snow (schnee von gestern in English).
Finally, the lively, 80’s, duck-egg- blue color of the brooch reminds me of skiing. On the slopes you see people wearing the brightest colors, ones they would not wear anywhere else. And that big white ‘S’ just says it all.

This work comes from the Online- collection on Jantje Fleischuts’ website. More from the ‘Schnee von gestern’- series can be seen there. She also has a section called Gallery-collections, where she displays work from her current solo exhibition: ‘Lost in translation and back to moon’ at gallery Rob Koudijs in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Untill the 16th of January so hurry!
And also found on Klimt02, of course.

Cufflinks 2009

Finally a post to help y’all with your Christmas shopping for MEN! I think they deserve some jewelry-attention. Caroline van Hoek Gallery is currently hosting an exhibition devoted to cufflinks, traditionally worn by men. Again, I’ve chosen two works, this time by two different artists.

The first cufflinks are by Lisa Walker, and linked with nostalgia, since she has used ‘vintage’ playmobil parts for her contribution to the exhibit. I still remember from my own childhood, that all the boys in my class played with playmobil. Those boys have now grown up, and are probably the men that could use some cufflinks. By wearing these, they can keep their inner child alive.

A whole different kind of historical connection is found in the second pair of cufflinks of Willemijn de Greef. She has worked with the shape of ‘Zeeuwse’ buttons, a traditional kind of button from the South-West of the Netherlands. The buttons were used for all kinds of adornment, and were also worn by men as a sort of belt-buckle. This explains their size, the biggest half of the cufflink is as big as a medium sized adult hand. The form is hollow, so not as heavy as it looks. It is an invitation for men to wear a part of Dutch history in the shape of contemporary jewelry.

This exhibition is showcased on Klimt02.

Than oars divide the ocean, too silver for a seam

Not one but two pieces this week, because they are so wonderfully done.
When Leslie Matthews stumbled upon a beautiful collection of 19th century Dutch clay pipe bowls, she was drawn to their small, delicate shape. Keeping them in mind, she created a whole series of silver forms. Their surface is embossed with Japanese rice paper to give them their fragile impression. Each form is inspired to complement the following one, as the two above show so well.
The title is a line from a poem by Emily Dickinson, who is a favorite of Leslie Matthews. She lives in Australia, so the sea is never far. I love how the forms are elongated by the waves of the silver necklace. And also how the color of the silver, reflects the different colors of the ocean, white for the foam of the waves, and black for its’ endless depth. On all these different levels,they really interact with each other! So for me, the work triggers an emotional response, which what Leslie Matthews is interested in.

Bull ! 2008

I have been admiring Felieke van der Leest’s work for quite some time now. When I saw her upcoming exhibition on Klimt02, it was just what I need as an excuse to write about it. The exhibition “F.I.B.S. (Festival International de Bêtes Sportives”) starts on the 27th of November until the 13th of December at gallery Deux Poissons in Tokyo.
The title of the exhibition is French for ‘international festival of sporty animals’. It refers to the Olympic games that were held in China in 2008.
This brooch is called Bull ! 2008, and refers to the Olympic sport of Archery. Here, the bull, is the ruby nose of a tiger. The perfect golden arrows, all the neatly sewn green sequins and the beautiful crochet work show that the brooch has been very well made. If the tiger doesn’t attract people’s attention then its sparkle will.
Tigers, are a protected and endangered species. In China, they are a symbol of power, energy and bravery, as well as good luck. Their skin is a status symbol and their bones are said to have medicinal power. Unfortunately many of them are shot for these reasons and not much is done by Chinese officials to stop the killing. The very surprised looking tiger in the brooch has just been hit by six arrows!
It is hard not to take the message seriously.