A new exhibition at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida, offers a look at more than 150 pieces of artist-designed jewelry.
West Palm Beach, Fla.—A new exhibition featuring jewelry designed by some of the most famous artists of the 20th and 21st centuries is now open at an art museum in West Palm Beach, Florida.
On display at the Norton Museum of Art, “Artists’ Jewelry: From Cubism to Pop, the Diane Venet Collection,” organized in partnership with guest curator Diane Venet, comprises more than 150 pieces of artist-designed jewelry from the personal collection of the internationally recognized collector.
The exhibition features works by familiar artists in a new context, including emblematic charms by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, whimsical headpieces by Claude Lalanne and Man Ray, surreal brooches by Dorothea Tanning and Salvador Dalí, and abstract pieces by Louise Nevelson and Arnaldo Pomodoro.
Some artists featured, like Alexander Calder, were prolific jewelry artisans, the museum notes, while other artists, such as Frank Stella, produced one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces.
On display are pieces made from hammered metals and precious stones like rubies and diamonds, as well as jewelry made with precise wiring techniques, found objects, and pieces of metal, plastic, and other unconventional materials.
Each piece tells a story of friendship, creative risk, and personal identity, said the museum.
Displayed with the jewelry are approximately sixty companion works, including paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and photographs from the museum’s permanent collection by many of the same artists.
This curation was meant to establish a visual dialogue between the works and articulate the artists’ technical range and varying sources of inspiration, the museum said.
Venet said she appreciates the way the exhibition exemplifies the artists’ creative challenges when translating their craft from large displays to something much smaller, that is wearable and deeply personal.
“Diane Venet’s collection is second to none. The necklaces, rings, brooches, earrings, headpieces, and more that she has collected feature incredible details rendered in interesting materials by some of the most famous artists of our time,” said Ghislain d’Humières, director and CEO of the museum’s Kenneth C. Griffin wing.
“Displayed alongside paintings and sculptures by many of the same artists from the Norton’s Collection, Artists’ Jewelry is an unmissable opportunity to broaden museumgoers’ understanding of their favorite artists’ oeuvres through these miniature works of art.”
The breadth of Venet’s collection is apparent in the exhibition, which features pieces ranging from a chunky gold ring designed by Yoko Ono resembling a vinyl record with “Imagine Peace” engraved on it as a nod to her late husband John Lennon to a gold and colorful enamel geometric necklace by Meret Oppenheim, one of nine produced, titled “Tête de poète.”
“Modern and contemporary, surrealist and avant-garde, minimalist and kinetic, commercially produced and one-of-a-kind: Venet’s collection has them all,” said the museum.
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Many of the works on display were gifts from Venet’s close friends and collaborators, as well as artists she knew personally and persuaded to expand into new mediums.
Born in Paris to a family of art collectors, she followed in their footsteps, following a career as a radio and television host.
She married French artist Bernar Venet and assisted in organizing exhibitions globally, where she met notable creatives, like Stella and Robert Rauschenberg, both of whom gifted her jewelry.
“The story of this collection is largely that of my friendships in the art world over the past forty years,” said Venet.
“In my rather itinerant life, this collection of jewelry is thus an intimate museum that I can take everywhere with me and the treasure trove which I can find on my return home. I am so honored that the Norton Museum has invited me to share these special pieces with a larger public.”
One highlight of the show is Man Ray’s “Optic Topic”, 1974, which Venet purchased as a gift for her husband.
The 18-centimeter-wide gold mask, modeled after a driving mask, features insect-like indentations over each eye.
“Since the beginning of humanity, individuals have adorned themselves with fine metals and precious stones – as modes of class distinction and personal expression,” said J. Rachel Gustafson, chief curatorial operations and research officer at the Norton.
“This exhibition bridges the gap between craft and fine art, two creative forms that seldom intersect or are interpreted within one exhibition.”
Visitors may also “try on” select pieces, a feature the museum said places the viewer into the collection.
It will also feature a special sound-based artwork created and produced by performer and auditory Sheila Concari whose compositions focus on interactions between the human voice and new technologies.
In each iteration of the exhibition, Venet invited a select few artists to make new works to join the collection and the exhibition.
Concari’s piece for this exhibition utilizes spoken word techniques and unique sound treatments designed to engage visitors and complement the show’s visual displays.
The exhibition opened in April and is on view through Oct. 5.
It was curated by Venet, with Norton Museum of Art Chief Curatorial Operations and Research Officer J. Rachel Gustafson and Curatorial Research Associate Sarah Bass.
